Age of the White Dawn
by Qweeni
Summary: Kagome's just a normal oracle-in-training...that is until she receives a startling premonition. Suddenly she finds herself with the strangest companions on a dangerous quest to save the world. IYxK with a little MxS on the side.
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
It is the age of the white dawn and war has spread its bloody hand across the land. Its splayed finger corrupted even the most isolated areas, pushing the world even deeper within the shadows of chaos. From this beautiful mass of confusion the ultimate evil will emerge and upon stretching its limb, sore from decades of lying dormant, will paint the sky a bitter red and will know its powers have grown. Intoxicated by the enormity of its strength, it will immediately begin its subtle consummation of the land, like it had done so many times before. Yet it will fail to see. It will fail to see that the darkness may have grown deeper, and more powerful, but it is only because the light has grown in purity and strength. It will fail to see that the sky may turn charcoal gray, and the air may reek of sulfur but dawn will come again, lighting the horizon in a halo of light sharper then any sword forged. It is the battle of ultimate good against ultimate evil, the redemption of a condemned race, conceiver of love, bringer of tears; it is the age of the white dawn.  
  
Hey ya'll this is my first fic I've posted for a while so I'm not expecting many reviews for it. This little fic originally started out as just a regular story but then I realized how much my characters paralleled the Inu Yasha group so I killed it and brought it back to life as a fanfic. Yay. Oh, and of course, standard disclaimers apply. 


	2. The Premonition and a Guest

Chapter 1

It had happened during early morning meditations when all of the students of the Delphi Academy sat in a large circle around the ever-burning crystal fire. The air had been thick with the smells of lavender and body spray; the fire crackled pleasantly, lulling Kagome into a dream-like state. That was when the premonition stuck, so different because of its reality-like feel. Each word, each image had been imprinted in her mind and, even now, she could remember every detail.

Kagome wasn't aware of exactly when reality turned into prophesy, but she guessed it occurred a few minutes into the morning meditations. When the premonition started, she still sat in the circle, still mentally groped for that clear diamond window she had been taught to do for years. Everything seemed normal until a voice, or several in unison, started whispering. She looked up to see who the brave student was that dared to break the seemingly impenetrable silence of early morning meditation, but everyone's head was still bowed in concentration. Yet the voices kept on whispering, a little louder this time, enabling her to vaguely make out what they were saying, _"Kag—Queen—of—Kag,"_ and as she strained to listen, the voices grew even louder and chanted slowly, steadily, _"Kagome, Queen of the World, Kagome, Queen of the World…"_ she looked around, trying to see if any one else heard the feathery, chanting voices; apparently not.

"Uh…yeah? Who are you? A-and what do you want?" she hesitantly asked.

For the first time the voices stopped their mantra and, instead, made a gurgling sound that might have been a chuckle. The sound caused her to smile in relief. It wasn't unflattering having her name paired with queen, but it was almost too appealing, and she suddenly felt she would do anything to have the world do the same. 

_"We do not wish any thing of you, rather the world is crying out for your aid."_ A high pitched voice squeaked in reply to her question. Puzzled, Kagome cocked her head to the side and stared blankly at the fire where the voice seemed to be coming from. A long, low cackle followed and, this time, a mellow soothing voice explained, _"Kagome, you are aware of the state of the land, how evil traverses openly on our roads, but you don't know why or how life was like before."_

As this was being said, Kagome's meditating classmates melted away and in their place were small squat stores and tall skyscrapers. The fire in the center of the room transformed into an especially tall, flame red building made out of some smooth crystal-like stone.

"Life back then was good. People knew what sunshine looked like and experienced the joy of walking down the street with a group of friends, unafraid of being kidnapped or raped."

Looking around, Kagome found herself wearing a strange uniform while walking down the street pass the tall, flame red building. Two girls, who appeared of be her age, were walking besides her, talking and laughing. One of them said something funny and, with out thinking, she laughed aloud with them. The atmosphere was friendly and, for once, the sun wasn't hidden behind clouds bloated with rain so Kagome didn't find it hard to allow her guard and tongue to loosen. While talking about some random boy named Hojo (who she didn't even know she knew), she felt a strange tingling sensation at the nape of her neck. Turning a little to the side she saw, out of the corner of her eyes, one of her new friends tumble to the ground, an expression of shock on her face. A dribble of blood dripped out of the corner of her mouth causing Kagome's panic to turn into hysteria. Her other companion didn't seem to notice until Kagome tugged on her arm and even then all she said was, "Oh," before pulling out a knife and smiling menacingly.  

"People began turning on one another. A greater evil would whisper lies to them and in anger people began killing each other and fighting in the middle of the street. The especially spite-filled morphed into mutated minions of the Greater Evil. After the Riot of '38," an image of the great red building burning flashed into view, "life soon became what it is now. Dark, helpless, without light."

Kagome was running barefoot on cracked slabs of pavement, fiery red buildings flickerd by, melting into a coal black, smoke-filled sky. Ashes fell from the sky like snow and, once again in unison, the voices roared, 

"You are the key, the light after the dark, the innocence. You MUST fulfill the mission, Kagome, Queen of the World, Kagome…"

Fire became ice and ash snow as the scene swirled and she rested at the base of an intimidating mountain. 

"At the top of the mountain." A melodious, clearly male voice continued, "is and ancient alter. It is our will that you, Kagome, the purest of mikos, Queen of the World, Oracle of Elisia, find the jewel of four souls, the Shikon no Tama, that rests in the deepest nest of the Devil, and place it at the top of the altar. This will destroy Naraku, the Greatest of Evils, but will not put a stop to all evil."

During the explanation, a thousand questions erupted in Kagome's mind and, squinting through the whirling snow she asked, "What do you mean Queen? And where's this Nest of the Devil? How will putting some jewel an on altar change the world? What's up with all of those titles, any way? And…" she hesitated, "I-I think you've got the wrong person. I'm no oracle, just a student in training. I haven't even gotten my first premonition yet." At this comment the voices erupted into chuckles again until Kagome asked timidly, "What if I don't do this?" Immediately the voices sobered and a definite air of gloom befell her as the voices started chanting and felt a chill crawl up her spine…

She shuddered suddenly. No, she wasn't particularly fond of that part of the premonition. 

"So, anyway, the Headmaster just smiled and let her go. Can you believe that Kagome? He just let her go! …Kagome?" Her friend's voice cut through her thoughts. Looking at her anxious face, Kagome smiled and apologized, 

"Sorry Yuka, I just kind of fazed out there."

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you want some oden? They're your favorite food right?" she asked, pushing her chair back from the great dining hall table.

"It's okay, it's okay! What were we talking about before?" Kagome asked, waving her friend's concern away; everyone had been treating her with an unnerving amount of respect and concern these days and she found it annoying. Still unconvinced, Yuka chose not to pursue the matter and instead resumed her chatter, allowing Kagome to lose herself in thoughts of Devil's Nests and Shikon no Tamas.

All too soon another interruption came, this time in the form of a loud slam as the main doors were forcefully thrown open. There were several exclamations, and shouts as a scuffle broke out, which was followed by the patter of feet as the intruder fled into the dining hall. The man froze, seeming confused, until he saw the Headmaster.

"Sir," he said, his hoarse voice loud in the startled silence, "I have news of Naraku,"

His gold eyes suddenly locked with Kagome's and she saw a ghost of a smile on his lips. Shivering in surprise, she would have smiled back if he hadn't collapsed into a heap on the ground. 

Wooot. I only had to go to school for one hour today so I finally managed to put up the first chapter. Soooo sorry for it being kinda boring, but I figure that I'll get the boring schtuff outta the way so I can jump into the juicy stuff un-interrupted. Standard disclaimers apply to fanfic, note the word fan. There's this really kewl song by the cars that I'm listening to that talks about living in cars. Or at least I think that's what they're talking about. ^_^* Not that, that was random or anything….


	3. In which the main characters meet

Chapter 2

After the initial shock wore off, the councilors began ushering students to their dormitories. Kagome caught a brief glimpse of the headmaster bending over the red-clad figure sprawled on the floor, but the current of several moving bodies was too much, and she couldn't stay to watch. Catching up with her friend, Yuka, she tossed one last look over her shoulder before asking, 

"So, what have you heard about him so far?" 

Yuka, delighted at actually being asked about the latest gossip (by Kagome of all people…) eagerly jumped to the juiciest rumor she had heard so far, 

"Well," she began, grinning excitedly, "My friend said that she overheard a councilor talking about her little sister who sat at the very end of the table, close to the door. It seems that the man isn't just some random psycho, buuut…" she paused, enjoying the fact that, for once, she had Kagome's undivided attention.

"But what?" Kagome urged impatiently, causing Yuka's grin to widen.

"But," she continued, "a youkai! And not a bad looking one at that." She added. Kagome resisted the urge to strangle her friend,

"That's it?"

"What do you mean, that's it? A _male_ youkai just barged into the _all girl_ school we attend. This is _so_ much more interesting then Kanna's detention. Hey! Maybe we should spy on him…you know, see if he's really all they say he is." She joked, but froze at Kagome's suddenly thoughtful and mischievous expression. 'Oh no,' she thought in dismay as a slow smile graced her friend's lips. That innocent smile never meant any thing good. Scooting nervously away from Kagome, Yuka failed to her murmur,

"Yes. Maybe we should pay a visit to our…guest." (o.0 …didn't that line come out of some movie? Ah well.)

When Kagome finally reached her bed, tucked all the way in the corner of the room, she chose to sit straight and upright on it rather then lie down and go immediately to asleep. A fat, gray cat with a rather sour-looking face trotted across the blankets, hopped onto her lap, and nudged her hand. 

"Hey Mr. Toodles." She said. Absently she stroked the cat with one hand, while the other lay clenched under her chin in thought.  

"He has something to do with it. That man…youkai….whatever he is, is involved. He mentioned that Naraku. What do you think?" The cat just stared at her before climbing onto one of her pillows. Chuckling softly to herself, she crawled underneath the cover. 'Tonight,' she thought to herself as the lights in the rooms started to dim, 'tonight I'm going to find out who he is.'

Slowly she opened her eyes and, with a jolt, realized that she must've fell asleep. Sitting up she looked at the fluorescent green numbers on the clock that sat on her bedside table; 2:45. Sliding out of bed she wrinkled her nose in disgust; she had fallen asleep in her uniform again. Shrugging it off, she crept towards the door, barefoot since she was quieter that way. 

Guests usually slept in the West Wing, all the way on the other side of the school, but if there was only one or two they were usually placed in the four rooms close to the main stairway. It would take only a matter of time before Kagome found the right one.

The first two rooms were dusty with misuse, but when she quietly pushed open the third door, she saw several strange articles of clothing scattered around the room and heard the sound of light breathing. She could vaguely make out the outline of a large canopy bed, and a small, round table close to the fireplace. Deciding not to risk waking the roon's inhabitant, she carefully avoided the bed and went directly to the table. Kagome found and empty knapsack with various items surrounding it. One interested her in particular, it being a very worn looking book. Undoing the clasp that held it shut, she winced, thinking it sounded too loud in the silence. 

When she felt it was "safe" to continue her investigation of the book, she opened it and discovered that it was actually some sort of diary. Flipping through the soft, leather pages, she stopped at one with a whole page covered din runes. At the very top of the page, in the bold, messy writing the rest of the pages were covered in, it read: _Went to base of mountain. Found these runes._

Against her better judgment, Kagome brought the book about an inch away from her face. Lightly touching the runes she whispered and interpretation of each of them:

"When the land falls into constant winter

Helpless, hopeless, without light

Only a piece of the evil can go hither

To the nest of the devil

And retrieve the jewel of bright

And upon dark mountain top

Embedded deep upon the stone

Rests the altar that will stop 

The evil, yet only him alone

Journey next to fair Elisia

Where powers will greatly grow

The queen will rise within that time

And her terror and might will show."

She re-read the passage one more time before reluctantly turning the page. Some slammed into her then, causing her to take a small step backwards. She was surrounded by voices, but unlike the organized voices of her premonition, these sounded chaotic and often time interrupted each other.

"Run! No, don't worry about me! Just run dammit!" a male voice barked.

"No, I can't just leave you here—" a female voice retorted. 

"Yes you can. Just turn around and get out of here. I'll follow you."

"But nothing. Listen, I love you Kikyou. There I said, now get the hell outta here—"

A hand roughly grabbed her shoulder while she felt something sharp brush against her neck,

 "Who're you and what the hell are you doing in my room?" He paused and, though it was dark, Kagome was aware that he was leaning closer to her face. She grimaced as the hold on her shoulder tightned.

"Kikyou? No…" the man said softly, and, despite the situation, Kagome remembered the small dialogue she had overheard earlier, and felt a little sorry for the man… that is, until she heard something that sounded suspiciously like sniffing.

"No, you're not her. Who are you wench?"

"My name is Kagome."

A silence followed and then, much to her relief, the man took his hand away from her shoulder and walked over to some corner of the room. Nervously she strained to see what the mean was doing, rubbing the spot on her should that he had gripped so tightly. With a click, the room was suddenly flooded with light.

"C'mere and get comfortable and…erm…tell me why the hell you have my journal."

Sheepishly Kagome placed the book she was still holding back onto the table, before walking over to the man's bedside. When her eyes finally adjusted to the sudden exposure to light, she saw that, up close,  "the man" looked barely a year older then herself. Kagome, being raised in an all girl's school, couldn't really tell whether one would consider this boy attractive, he seemed rather harsh and distant, but his snowy white hair was nice enough. Not to mention his eyes. They were a beautiful warm gold with a wild, dangerously, angry look that was strangely comforting. And his ear—unbeknownst to her, a look of confusion flew onto her face. Where were his ears? Her eyes traveled upwards and finally rested on…the most adorable pair of ears she ever saw.

"Are they real?" she wondered aloud, clapping her hands over her mouth in dismay. 'I said that aloud didn't I?' she mentally groaned.

"Yes," the dog boy snapped, the ears in question twitching, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"N-no. I think they look…cute." He started at her blankly for a few seconds, as if wondering whether she was quite sane of not. 

"So anyway," he said, breaking the (obviously) awkward silence that had followed her comment, "Why were you in my room wench?"

"My name's Kagome—"

"Whatever."

"And," she continued, rolling her eyes, "I was just curious about you. I mean, how many male youkais burst into the all girl school you attend every day?"

"…hanyou."

"What?"

"I'm just a hanyou."

"Oh."

"And you also came to see whether I was connected to your premonition at all." He added with a smirk, folding his arms over his chest smugly. 

"How did you—"

"Your headmaster told me about it. Seems like the whole time you were having it you were speaking a different language, but they heard you mention Naraku…yeah." The way he had spat out the name Naraku caused Kagome to look up at his face n surprise and, for a brief moment, she caught a glimpse of hatred and pain cloud his features before it returned to its original smug expression. Unaware of the embarrassed flush spreading throughout his companion's face, he asked offhandedly, 

"So, exactly what happened in your premonition thing any way?"

She stiffened and responded vaguely,

"Oh well, you know, the usual. Any way, why should I tell you when I don't even know your name?"

"Feh, why does it matter? Whatever, it's Inu Yasha."

"…dog demon?" she asked, amused. He just smirked again and changed the subject,

"I told you my name, now tell me your premonition."

"No! I haven't even told the headmaster about it!"

"So? What's the big deal wench?" 

She glowered at him, "Hey buddy, the name's Kagome, and why do _you_ want to know so badly?"

He reddened and crossed his arms again, "None of your business." 

Rolling her eyes Kagome sighed and, "Fine. Why don't you tell me why came to this school, of all places, and I'll tell you my premonition." At this, Inu Yasha jumped up from the bed and pointed an accusing finger at her, 

"What are you up to little girl?"

"Nothing! Just calm yourself and sit—" SLAM! "…down?"

"What the hell? How'd you do that wench?"

"I don't know! All I said was sit—" SLAM!

"Stop doing that!" they both cried in unison. 

"Yeah, like I'm friggin slamming myself , face first, on the floor on purpose," he muttered. 

"Well I don't know! People are strange these days. For all I know, you may get random masochistic urges to fall flat on your face." She said, attempting to defend herself. Noticing the glare he was throwing her, Kagome sighed and snapped, "Fine, fine. You're right I'm wrong. I won't say that stupid word again…tonight. There, happy?"

"Yes."

"Now tell me why you came here."

"You sure are a stubborn bitch aren't you?"

"Are you trying to change the subject?" She smiled, her voice sickeningly sweet. Scowling, he finally shrugged and said, "Naraku came and destroyed everything in the village I stayed in. Killed a helluva lot of people while he was at it. So I came here to see whether your headmaster had received any premonitions of me killing the son of a bitch. There, I told you my story, don't go backing out of the deal." 

She still had several question to ask him, but a deal was a deal… With great reluctance, she slowly told him of the voices, the flame red building, and the Shikon no Tama. The events that occurred at the base of the mountain were mentioned just as a pale finger of dawn stretched upwards from the horizon and she trailed off then, unwilling to describe any more; Inu Yasha didn't seem to notice. He was gazing at something out the window, all of his features softened, except for his eyes; they remained harsh and guarded. Turning to her, he opened his mouth to say something, but, seeing something over her shoulder, motioned for her to turn around. Nodding, she fearfully did an about face and was met with two familiar pair of yellow eyes. Letting out a sigh of relief, she said, 

"Mr. Toodles, what are you doing here?"

"Mr. Toodles?"

"My cat," she answered.

"Oh, so that's what you reek of." His voice was filled with disdain.

Ignoring his comment, she scooped up the large feline who, overcome with joy, hissed and struggled to escape her grip.  Tightening her hold on it she smiled apologetically, 

"I better get going. Sorry I kept you up so late."

He waved her apology aside, "Whatever. I don't need to sleep as much as you weak humans do. Any way, listen wench, after you eat breakfast meet me back here, I have a plan."

"A plan? For what?"

"You'll just have to see for yourself." He said, displaying his seemingly trademark smirk again. 

"But right after breakfast is class!" Kagome protested. 

"So?"

"Are you asking me to cut class?" she demanded, incredulously. 

"Uh, basically. What, you scared to or something?" he was smiling patronizingly at her making it difficult for her not to stomp her foot and pout. 

"_Fine_," Kagome snapped, making her way towards the door, "I'll be here. It better be good, though."

"It will." He replied, following her. To his surprise, though, she didn't just walk right out the door. Instead, she carefully placed the cat on the floor before turning to face him. Tilting her head to the side, she studied his face for a moment, ignoring the way he began to nervously fidget 

"W-what?" he practically snarled. 

She didn't respond and only took a step closer to him, the calm, thoughtful look still on her face. Slowly she raised her hands and rubbed his ears. 'They're so soft!' she thought to herself, secretly delighted. Then she noticed the expression on Inu Yasha's face and abruptly dropped her hands to her sides. 

"I've been wanting to do that this whole time." Kagome explained. When she received no response, she gave Inu Yasha one last smile before grabbing the cat and hastily making her way to her dorm, leaving Inu Yasha debating whether to smirk or scowl as he watched her figure disappear down the hall. 

I'm so excited! I finally figured out how to save the word document as an HTML file. And it's all thanks to Kaylana, so yeth, I dedicate this chapter to you. ^_^ If you hadn't told me to save it as an html file I probably would've just stared at the computer for a couple of hours willing my story to look right when I posted it on the site. Standard disclaimers apply to the fic, of course. I'm going to go eat cereal and hot chocolate for lunch now. Chappy 3 should be up soon unless my teachers feel particularly sadistic this week… 

Oh, and I should say now that this is mainly gonna be an Inu and Kagome fic, but there will be a little Sango and Miroku on the side. Anywayz, yeah. On to my cereal…


	4. Good Morning Sunshine!

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 3: Good Morning Sunshine!

Wooooooooooooosh. Woooooooooooosh

'_…what the hell?'_

Unaware of his confused thoughts, Kagome continued to blow annoyingly into Inu Yasha's ears, stifling the urge to giggle at the adorable way his ears twitched in response. Her mischievous mood quickly nose-dived when she suddenly found herself flat on her back with her arms pinned to her sides. With a delayed squeak of fear she reluctantly dragged her eyes upwards to meet with Inu Yasha's own angry-looking ones. 

"Uh…heh heh…good morning sunshine!"

"Do all the girls in this school wake each other up like that, or is that just you wench?" he growled, loosening his hold on her.

"Just me." She replied cheerfully, pushing the hanyou away while trying not to blush at the rather suggestive position they were in earlier.

"So, why'd you call me here?" Kagome asked, smoothing out the invisible wrinkles in her school robes. Inu Yasha ignored her and instead proceeded to survey her appearance suddenly making her feel very self-conscious. He arched an eyebrow and sniffed, 

"You look like shit."

"Well your no bed of roses yourself." Kagome retorted, turning quickly away from him. Running a hand absently through her slightly mussed hair she tried hard not to sigh. Despite her cheery wake-up call, the truth was that she had only gotten about two hours of sleep and she had humungous under eye shadows to prove it. Composure regain, she turned back around and was about to make a witty ego-blowing comment when she involuntarily stiffened; it just felt like a wave of needles had lightly pricked her arms. 

Inu Yasha stiffened as well, slowly falling into a fighting stance. They both remained tense for a moment and, after a while, Kagome thought she was merely being paranoid, but then a tremor shook the school. And then another. 

Kagome's eyes flicked over to Inu Yasha, seeking some sort of reassurance but he only served to heighten her anxiety. His bangs cast an eerie shadow over his eyes and a smirk, one a lot more bitter then his trademark smirk, graced his lips. 

"He found us."

Momentarily calming her jittering nerves she attempted non-chalance, but only managed to ask in a choked whisper, 

"Who?"

"Naraku."

The name caused her to grimace. '_Well isn't this a nice way to start off the day…'_ she mentally grumbled. As if on cue another shockwave hit the school, not helping Kagome's already wound up nerves.

"What do we do?" she asked, still whispering. 

"Well first, we stop this stupid whispering. The son of a bitch's not next to us, you know. He probably isn't even here. He probably just sent one of his pals to get rid of us…the coward." Inu Yasha growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Then what?"

"Then we leave."

"What? Where? I can't just leave!" Kagome cried, forgetting all about Naraku and their situation in the process.

"Why not? That was the original plan." He smirked.

"I've lived here for as long as I can remember. I _can't_ just leave." '_I'm not ready to leave.'_ She silently added.

"Well if you don't leave there won't anything left in the school where you've 'lived for as long as you can remember.' Actually your friend's skeletons may still be lying around…as well as the youkai who ate them. Feh, whatever, though. I'm leaving." He shrugged and made his way towards the windows. 

"What do you mean if _I_ don't leave?" Kagome asked, following Inu Yasha. 

"Heh, did you really think," he grunted, attempting to lift the sash of the window, "that Naraku's after _me_?" The window didn't budge, and he resorted to glowering at it, as if willing it to open. Kagome, on the other hand, was pondering over Inu Yasha's words. 

'_If I stay, Naraku will keep on attacking the school until we're all dead, but if I leave he'll leave the school alone and no one will get hurt…not much of a choice to make.'_ With a resigned sigh she asked,   
"So, where are we going?"

"The devil's nest," he replied, still glaring at the window; he was very close to just smashing the stupid thing open. Shaking her head in amusement, Kagome rescued the window from its imminent destruction by giving it a small push , causing it to swing open easily. 

"Where exactly is this devil's…" she trailed off as yet another tremor shook the school. "Maybe we should check on the other students." She suggested gazing worriedly at the door. When she turned back around there was no sign of Inu Yasha.  

"Hm. He must've jumped out the window." She thought aloud. 

…wait. He jumped out the window?! The window was at least five stories up!

"Inu Yasha!" she called in alarm, racing over to the window and leaning precariously out of it.

"Sh. Quiet wench!" a familiar voice barked, filling her with relief.

"Baka! Don't scare me like that."

"Hmph. Why do you care?" he flashed her an arrogant smirk.

"I don't. I just didn't want to risk being accused of pushing you out of a window five stories above the ground. How'd you do that any way?"

He snorted, "I told you already. I'm much stronger then you weak humans are. Now hurry up and jump down."

"No way! I think I'll just use the door…"

"Can't. It's blocked off by youkai. There's only two or three of'em in the school, but everyone's panicking any way." 

"We should help them!"

"No," Inu Yasha snapped, "once you leave, they leave. So hurry and jump before they—" the door behind Kagome flew open with warning, causing her to whip around and gasp,

"Yuka!" 

Her friends normally immaculately done hair looked, for lack of a better description, like a rat's nest while her eyes were wide with fear and surprise.

"Kagome?" she murmured. Her eyes lowered guilty to the floor and her hands began to nervously twist at the hem of her school robes.

"I'm so sorry Kagome…please, forgive me.." she whispered before shouting, "Ms. Yura! Ms. Yura! I found the one you want!"

"Wench what's going on up there?" Inu Yasha's voice demanded at the same time. Looking between the window and her guilty looking friend she shouted, reproachful eyes locked with Yuka's, "I'm leaving now. You better catch me Inu Yasha." Before pushing herself out of the window.

For a moment she reveled in the falling sensation she was experiencing. It was pleasant to open her arms and find herself embracing nothing but a deliciously cool breeze. Unfortunately, this feeling of indifference only lasted for a tenth of a millisecond and was soon replaced by fear. Scrunching her eyes and first shut, she braced herself for the insane pain she'd be experiencing if Inu Yasha failed to catch her. He caught her though, and with sickeningly little effort, no less. 

"You can open your eyes now," he said quietly. Kagome winced; she could practically hear that annoying smirk in his voice. Cautiously opening one eye she immediately wished she hadn't. Yep, that stupid cocky smirk was on his face, but it seemed tempered by another emotion. What was it?

"Why'd you jump?" he asked curiously. Oh, that was it: honest curiosity. Tilting her head to the side she answered his question with one of her own,   
"Why wouldn't I?" Now he looked just plain confused. Sighing she added, 

"I didn't have much of a choice did I? Uh…you can put me down now, by the way." He snorted and dropped her unceremoniously on the ground.

"Well that wasn't nice 'Yasha-kun." A female voice purred. Looking over her shoulder, Kagome caught sight of a scantily clad woman who appeared to be floating in mid air. Only upon closer inspection did she realize that the woman was not floating but actually balancing delicately on a nearly invisible strand of…

"Hair?"

"Good job, babe." She giggled, "Naraku _said_ you'd be able to see my hair."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inu Yasha growled, "and who the hell are you?"

"La? Oh, how silly of me! I'm Yura, Yura of the hair. And I'm here to kill you 'Yasha-kun." With a graceful flick of her wrist, millions of strands of hair appeared out of nowhere and shot towards the unsuspecting Inu Yasha. 

"Oh! Inu Yasha, in front of you!" Kagome warned. Blindly he clawed in front of him, but the hairs evaded his claws and managed to successfully wrap themselves about his body.

"Stop it!" Kagome cried, running towards Yura.  __

"Sorry, babe. Orders are orders!" she sing-songed, using her other hand to somehow freeze Kagome in place. No matter how she struggled, she couldn't seem to move and was forced to watch as Inu Yasha vainly tried to escape the hairs that held him. 

"What's the matter 'Yasha-kun?" Yura teased as she slowly drew a blade from the scabbard at her side. "Not comfortable? Let me help you with that," she smiled, darting forward with her blade drawn…just as Inu Yasha finally managed to break free of his bonds. He barely had time to dodge her attack, and even then she managed to draw blood from his chest. The bloody wound didn't seem to effect him, though; in fact, he seemed almost pleased. 

"I thought you said you were going to kill me," He drawled with a malevolent glint in his eye. Kagome couldn't help shuddering at the sight of the pissed hanyou. '_Sure glad he's on my side.'_ She thought just as her eye caught sight of something hanging by Inu Yasha's side, '_A sword? Why doesn't he use the sword?'_ Noticing what Kagome was looking at Yura laughed, 

"You're starting to bore me, 'Yasha-kun. Why don't you use that katana at your side, eh?"

"None of your damn business so shut your mouth!" Inu Yasha growled, placing a hand to his bloodied chest in what seemed to be pain. 

"Aw, am I playing to rough for you 'Yasha-kun?"

"Not at all. The scratches you gave me are healing right now. In fact you're way too easy," he snorted.

"La?"

"Feel my claws of blood!"

With a shriek Yura collapsed into a bloody heap on the ground; Kagome soon followed suit. 

"Ugh," she gagged, eyes lingering on Yura's bloody, severed form. "That's gross." Inu Yasha didn't respond. Pushing herself off the ground she quietly made her way to his side. 

"Inu Yasha, are you okay? She hurt you pretty bad."

"Look." Following his gaze Kagome saw the figure that was silhouetted against the window she had jumped out of earlier that day. _'Yuka…'_

"A friend of yours?"

"Yeah." She turned away from the window, blinking away the tears that crowded about the corner of her eyes. She still couldn't believe Yuka would betray her so easily. 

"Dammit. We'll have to do triple time now. Let's go, this place'll be swarming with curious dumb asse--er students in a couple of minutes." Inu Yasha explained quietly. Then he turned and started jogging light towards the vast expanse of grassy field next to the school and away from the main roads. Taking one last look at the tall, dark castle that had been her home for fifteen years, she bid everyone a silent farewell before turning away and jogging after him. The light jog turned into a run and then an all out sprint (of course to Inu Yasha, Kagome's "all out sprint" was equivalent to his easy run) so by the time Inu Yasha allowed Kagome to rest, ragged breath and trembling, the dark shadow of the school had disappeared. After a few more minutes of rest they set off again across the vast, seemingly endless of ocean of grass. They continued walking at an irrationally fast pace, even when the sun disappeared from the sky and its rays were replaced with millions of stars. The dreamlike atmosphere and lack of sleep added together caused Kagome to experience not-so-pleasant memories even more vividly then before. When an especially chilling memory, usually from her premonition, flitted across her mind she would freeze and begin to experience the mind-blowing pain and fear all over again. Inu Yasha wasn't much help; since their mad race away from the school he hadn't spoken a word.  

During the first couple of panic-attacks Inu Yasha would impatiently wait for her to recover, then double their walking pace until fatigue slowed them down to the pace they were walking before. The third time Kagome froze it was suddenly so cold, yet she felt her insides being engulfed in a fiery hot wave of magma. Unbeknownst to her, her eyes had closed, her hands were clenched at her sides and her bottom lip trembled uncontrollably. He turned to glare impatiently at her but, noticing her unusually pale face contorted in pain, instead walked back over to her. Hesitantly he reached out and tapped her shoulder, momentarily startling her out of the living nightmare she had fallen into. 

"Inu Yasha?"

"Get on." He motioned.

"Huh?" with a sighed he pointed to his back and patiently waited as Kagome clambered on. 

"Hold on." He warned and, grateful to finally be able to go as fast as he wanted, sprinted off full speed. 

When he had first started running, Kagome instinctively gripped his haori tighter, but, as they sped onwards, Kagome loosened her grip and, for the first time that day, laughed.

"Wow," she breathed. Half of Kagome's fatigued mind was aware that was riding on Inu Yasha's back but the other half of her mind refused to grasp this concept. All it seemed to want to process was that she was traveling fast and that the stars were fiery white and seemed a lost closer then they usually appeared. 

"It must be nice to run so fast. If I could run fast I'd just run and run…wow the stars are really close tonight. I wonder if I reach out…would I be able to catch one?" she smiled, voicing her muddled thoughts.

"Better not try." Inu Yasha advised. 

"Don't worry, I won't." Kagome replied, snuggling closer to the warmth of his back before continuing her sleep-deprived ramblings.  "Aw man, I'm so scared of this whole stupid situation. I know I shouldn't but everything's changing sooo fast. And I already miss how things were, but things'll never go back now huh? Nope. I can't go back, ever. …Inu Yasha?"

"Hm?"

"No matter what, don't let me go back, mmkay?" she murmured sleepily. There was no reply. 

As the night progressed Kagome's nightmares resumed. The occurrences became so common that reality and the dream world melted into one another, and it seemed to Kagome that Inu Yasha tread through a land of grass and fire. She didn't know how but suddenly the grass was replaced by buildings, and even that melted away into a room with chairs lining the wall and a large desk. She no longer rested safely on Inu Yasha's back because he was talking to some man at the front desk. Then she was stumbling up the stairs to the dormitory—no, the dormitory steps weren't wooden. Too tired to fathom where she was and how she got there, she managed (barely) to find her room. Mechanically she slipped off her shoes and took off her outer robes before collapsing into bed and immediately falling into a deep dreamless sleep from which she didn't wake until several hours later. 

A/N: Gah! Finally! I have three sisters, one of which is a psychotically-devoted honors student. Why am I telling you this? Because I'm trying to explain why it took me so long. Any way, as a result of my sister's devotion to school and my little sister's quest to learn html, I've waited for four days to use the computer. When I finally do get to use the computer, I have to use it for homework. Yep, I stayed up until four in the morning last night. I don't like doing that. Of course, who does any way? Bah, whatever. I think I might have some time to type up the next  chappy… (which'll be a lot shorter then this one.) Hm…I just re-read my story and it seems to be a bit choppy. Groar. Ah well, standard disclaimers apply. 


	5. A Different Look

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 4: A Different Look

Kagome was abruptly pulled from the land of slumber by the loud slam of a door. Dazed and confused, she lay on her back for at least ten minutes trying to identify where she was and why her body ached. When she finally recalled all of the events that had occurred, she chose to avoid dwelling on her current situation and instead began to lazily observe her surroundings. Focusing on the faded pink wallpaper pealing above her head caused a lot less emotional stress then attempting to determine where Inu Yasha was taking her. 

Unfortunately, Kagome had the attention span of a three year old and she soon found herself leaving the comfort of her room in search of something more interesting, namely Inu Yasha. After several wrong turns and a flight of stairs she finally found him in the common room. He was seated at one of the tables in the corner with a mug of ale in one hand and, to Kagome's surprise, Mr. Toodles curled around his bare feet. 

"How did Mr. Toodles get here?"

"The damn cat followed us. I walked down here to eat and there it was, sleeping on t he table." He looked down at the cat with a sneer, his ears twitching in annoyance. 

"Well, minus the fat cat, you look like the ideal mysterious traveler tucked away in the shadows." She teased, pulling up a chair and joining him. He didn't respond. With an annoyed sniff she grabbed for the mug he held, but he snatched it away before thinking otherwise and handing it to her. 

"At least tell me where we are." She muttered, taking a sip of his ale and gagging at the bitter taste. Smirking, he took the mug back,   
"We're in Maesta Carta at the Rusty Gate Inn."

"Maesta Carta…isn't that at least twenty-five miles away from the school?" she asked, absently watching an old woman walk by. Their eyes met and she nodded politely, but instead of nodding back, the woman seemed alarmed. She hurriedly left the room, dropping the basket of laundry she had been carrying. 

"Yeah," Inu Yasha replied, oblivious to the old woman's strange antics, "We made good time, so, instead of eating on the road, I'll let you eat here."

"How nice of you," she murmured, just spotting the funny old woman coming back through the door. Clutched to her chest was a package which she placed on their table when she hesitantly walked over to them. Before either of them could say anything, she had stepped in front of Kagome, gave a small bow, then in a heavily accented voice explained, "She told me to give this to you and to say that you must be strong and that no matter what is said, Mother is always with you."

Kagome's stomach suddenly performed a series of impressive acrobatics and her heart was threatening to beat itself right out of her chest. 

"Y-you knew my mother?"

"Er…well, no. A beautiful stranger came into town one day and told me to give this package to a girl who looked like her except much younger. I almost forgot about it, it was so long ago but…" she trailed off noticing Kagome's nervous state. 

"Stop the tricks old woman. 'Cuz trust me, no one's laughing here." (A/N: …not that that was lame or anything…-_-*) Inu Yasha spoke up suddenly, his voice laced with menace. The woman's eyes widened at the comment, 

"'Tisn't no life! Why, I remember her eyes. They were beautiful gray blue, a lot like yours. In fact she looked a lot like you. Her hair was longer then yours, though, and she seemed a lot sadder. She looked as if she was crying even when she smiled, but you seem as innocent and happy as my three year old grand child…no. The lady I speak of is no made up parson sir. Now, I must be getting back to my laundry and leave you to your breakfastin." She gave one last bow before scooping up the laundry she had dropped earlier and once again exited the room, just as a barmaid placed a plate stacked with bread, fruit and porridge in front of them. 

"Uh…let's eat before you open the package that weirdo gave you." 

She nodded silently and reached for a roll, ignoring the fact that it was still steaming hot. The meal continued in silence, thoughts of the package, its contents and who it was from ever present in her mind. After debating with Inu Yasha who would eat the last of the glue-like porridge, and finally agreeing that Mr. Toodles would like it, Kagome hastily excused herself.   
"You go fifteen minutes wench."

She gave Inu Yasha a weak smile, "The name's Kagome."

Taking the steps two at a time, she managed to find her room with little difficulty. She opened the door and locked it behind her, not wanting an interruption, even from Mr. Toodles. With trembling fingers she undid the rope that held the cloth bundle shut and dumped its contents onto her bed. 

'_Clothes?'_ she stared blankly at the articles of clothing on her bed and gulped nervously. 

"They're so…tiny." She squeaked holding up a skirt. Unlike the modest pastel robes she usually wore, these clothes were a sharp, dark green and white and…she gulped again…innocently provocative.

"I hope my mother's taste in clothes doesn't reflect her personality…" she muttered, reluctantly pulling on the small, dark green skirt. Next came the white shirt with the green sailor-like collar, the weird shoes and all that was left was a red piece of cloth. She stared at it. _'Where does it go?'_ After tying it on various areas, she decided it looked stupid in her hair and just tied it to the front of her shirt like a kerchief. 

Done with that task, she cringed and slowly turned towards the large mirror next to the bed and blinked at herself in surprise. The clothes…they fit! Not just physically either. In the soft mute-colored robes the school provided her with, she appeared pale, wraith-like and weak. In the clothes her mother gave her, small as they were, she still portrayed innocence but strength as well. 

There now no doubt left in Kagome's mind; her mother had definitely been an oracle. But what had she seen? Why, of all things, did she leave strange clothing for her daughter? And why had she abandoned her in the first place? With these thoughts racing through her head, she rolled her school robes into a small bundle and was about to place it into the cloth her new clothes came in when something soft suddenly brushed against her leg. 

"Gah!" she barely managed to stifle her cry of alarm.

"Mr. Toodles?" she looked over at the door, it was still locked. Picking up the cat she asked, "How did you—" there was a loud rapping on the door.   
"Fifteen minutes are up."

"Just one min—" 

"Nope. Right now or I knock down the door wench." Inu Yasha rapped the door again for emphasis. 

"Yeah, yeah." She grumbled, grabbing her stuff and stomping out the door. She was halfway down the hall when she realized no one was following her. 

"What?" she demanded. He didn't say anything for a while, then, 

"_That's_ what she gave you?"

"Oh, yeah," she smile embarrassedly. "Like it?"

"It…you…you look erm…different." He finished lamely. 

"Basically ridiculous."

"Feh, not—" 

"Yeah, okay." She cut him off. "Let's go now."

With an exasperated sigh he snapped, "Fine! Since you're so eager to leave, why don't you tell me where we're going next?"

"The devil's nest, of course." She grinned triumphantly.

"After a two day walk across the Yedlad Desert." She groaned rubber her, now, bare already sore legs. 

"Hey, no one's forcing you to go, wench. If you're giving up…"

"I never said I wouldn't go." Kagome snapped, eyes flashing in determination. Inu Yasha smirked, 

"Feh, sure. Whatever." 

Eyes narrowed, she began walking down the hall again. 

"Inu Yasha?" her voice was sugary sweet. 

"…what?"

"Sit."

SLAM

A/N: Standard disclaimers apply. Blech. Stupid internet's crapping out on me…


	6. Stomach Aches and Arguments

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 5: Stomach Aches and Arguments

To cross the bridge leading into the Southlands, basically Yedlad Desert, Kagome had to discard her school robes and, to her distress, Mr. Toodles. Maybe it was because of the grumpy cat's absence, or over a course of a day her legs had become accustomed to a reckless pace…well, whatever it was, it seemed that she was going at a more leisurely pace. Thus, she could observe her surroundings without fear of being left behind. Unfortunately, this pass simple pass time grew too simple, too fast. The landscape was relatively flat and boring and the only event worth recognition was the occasional handful of sand being blown into her face, and even that grew boring. Avoiding thoughts of her premonition, Kagome found herself focusing on trivial matters, such as the almost tangible feeling of the sun beating down on her head and the way Inu Yasha's ears twitched every fifteen seconds or so. 

Her thoughts continued in this fashion until a cluster of what appeared to be sand dunes appeared in the distance. So, instead of theorizing exactly why Inu Yasha's ears twitched so punctually, she started to calculate how long it would take to reach the sand dunes, then how long it would take actually climb over them. 

A gray, thin ribbon of smoke soon came into view, then another, until she figured that either the sand was somehow burning or they were approaching a settlement of some kind. She looked questioningly at Inu Yasha, who was also looking towards the ribbons of smoke. Meeting her gaze he explained, 

"We're probably approaching a village or something…funny…" he trailed off and cracked his knuckles.

"What?" she asked nervously, "What's so funny?"

"There isn't supposed to be any settlements this close to the borders." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked, 

"It's nothing to worry about, though."

"I'm not scared," she snapped. '_Which isn't a total lie or any thing.' _She thought sarcastically. In fact, she was terrified, and nervous with a little excitement mixed into all of that. True, they could just be walking straight into a herd of hungry youkai, but this was an adventure, right? Right! Fidgeting, she nervously tugged at her skirt trying to focus on the way it rode up her legs every thirty seconds and how, after every thirty-five seconds, she would have to adjust it. …it was no use. Her stomach was still churning and it was only when she caught sight of Inu Yasha's amused smirk that she forced a smile onto her own face. Clenching her fists together, she looked expectantly towards the settlement; she would _not_ let Inu Yasha see how anxious she truly was.

*****

When they reached the settlement it took a few minutes for Kagome to actually acknowledge that fact. It seemed that in only a matter of minutes, the small black hills in the distance had morphed into tall walls with barred windows that allowed one to see, but not enter, a small courtyard. As they passed these windows, they caught brief glimpses of women going at each other with two curved swords. It was almost frightening to watch after a while; they performed with such silence and skill. Kagome sincerely hoped to never be at the receiving end of their swords. Banishing such thoughts from her mind, she tilted her head and, once again, looked questioningly at Inu Yasha, 

"Who _are_ these people?"

"Dunno. But they're probably Bendela." He shrugged, watching two of the strangely dressed women begin to fight. His ears pressed flat against his head at the sudden clash of swords. 

"They're okay fighters." He added after watching them for a moment. 

"Thank you Captain Obvious." 

"Any time." 

She sighed and decided to ignore him. _'Bendela…Bendela…where have I heard that name before,'_ she pondered, brows furrowing and lips pursed.

"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed softly, "The Bendela are an ancient society of women whose ancestors swore to serve the new, true and ultimate ruler. Since then, they've been training for that day." She recited with a proud grin. 

"…what are you ranting about wench?"

"Never mind." She sighed. They passed another window, and she eagerly watched two women strike, block, trade places, strike, block, strike, strike; it was like they were dancing. 

Turning a corner she saw both the large, main gates and the vaguely humanoid figure at the same time. It (the creature) loomed menacingly over a small, trembling figure crouched on the ground: a little girl. Kagome could feel her face turning red with anger but, as if reading her thoughts, Inu Yasha roughly gripped her shoulder, "Don't," he warned, "It's none of our business."

"How do you know?" she demanded indignantly. The simple question seemed to surprise him, causing him to slightly loosen his hold on her shoulder. Taking advantage of his confused state, Kagome shook off his hand and dashed towards the figure, ignoring his angry yell. 

At the sound of Kagome's footsteps, the creature looked up and ceased antagonizing the little girl, who took this opportunity to slip away and sprint towards the main gates. Meanwhile, Kagome had just seen the creature up close and could barely hold back a gag. Its face was gruesome; bloody lumps of flesh clung loosely onto it, and it's eyes were yellow, glazed over…yet there was something almost familiar about that face. 

_'Not exactly the best time to dwell on those thoughts!'_ she mentally scolded herself when she was about a foot away from the creature. She slammed into it with her shoulder, the sheer force of her attack causing her to tumble over it and skid into the sand. Shuddering at the red, sticky liquid now on her shoulder, she jumped up and tensed, waiting for the creature to attack. 

At first she thought it was down, but the element of surprise must have temporarily immobilized it, because in a minute it was up and quickly lumbering towards her. Watching the creature approach, a strange churning feeling started to take over Kagome's gut, making her feel as if her stomach was melting. 

_'It must be my powers!'_ she thought excitedly. '_After all, the poem thingy in Inu Yasha's book said that the person who put the jewel on the alter would get powers, and I'm going to put the jewel on the alter, so that's just as good!'_

With renewed confidence, she didn't wait for the creature to come to her, but, instead, sprinted towards it. Letting out a "menacing" shout, she jumped in front of it, hand extended, willing that feeling in her stomach to climb upwards and out of her palm. 

Nothing happened. 

The horrible realization came to her then; that feeling in her stomach wasn't magic, it was fear. Surprisingly quick for such a stupid looking thing, it chuckled before it raised its arm and sent her flying a foot in the air. She landed on her back with a loud thump and a cloud of sand, and would have just stayed in that position if, of all people, Inu Yasha didn't come to mind. He wore that annoying smirk, and she could actually hear him laughing scornfully…

Eyes flashing, she growled at the mental image while struggling to stand up. This time, she allowed the creature to come to her before attempting to punch where she thought its face was. It easily caught her first and began to slowly twist her arm. Emitting a series of gags and whimpers, she thrashed about, attempting to escape the slimy, ice-cold grasp of the creature, but to no avail. Her desperate efforts only accomplished one task, and that was drenching her arm in the putrid substance that dripped form its body. 

"Ew! This is so gross!" she couldn't help squealing as she struggled. 

"Imagine how I feel babe." 

Kagome stopped her escape attempts and stared dumbly at the hideous creature. "Yura?" 

"Unfortunately, yes."

"What _happened to you?" _Kagome asked, unable to veil the disgust in her voice. 

"Your little lapdog is what happened." Yura ground out. "He destroyed my beautiful hairs, so I'm left like this." She bowed her decaying head in shame. 

"If only…if only I had some beautiful hair again," she continued, her yellow eyes flicking over Kagome's own hair while she slowly resumed twisting the girl's arm. 

"Oh, ew! Stop! It's getting all over me." Kagome cried, sensing something was very wrong here. Aside from her physical state, the Yura in front of her was not the same as the one she met at the school. She seemed more desperate, less controlled. 

"Don't bother struggling, babe. I just ate two Bendela this morning, so I'm twice as strong as I was before." Her eyes grew even more glazed looking as she drew Kagome closer and gazed longingly at her hair. Running a bloodied finger through the ebony locks (to Kagome's dismay) she soothed, 

"Don't worry, this'll only take a moment." As she said this, Kagome noticed something strange. The creature's—er, Yura's mouth seemed to be growing longer for some reason…her gray eyes widened in shock. 

_'Oh! She's really going to eat me!'_ She thought as the hand that held her fist began to drag her closer to the gaping black mouth. 

_'She'll pop me into her mouth like a piece of popcorn,'_ Kagome thought hysterically, '_then I'll slide easily down her throat and eventually be smashed to pieces or be eaten away by stomach acid, and that'll be it! The end of Kagome! The next time I see daylight, I'll be a small pile of smelly poop…'_ Her stomach hurt at the thought…and then her chest. Something was squeezing at her heart, she couldn't breath and the black hole was so close she could smell the rancid quality of Yura's breath. Gagging when she felt slimy fingers encircle her neck, she mustered all of her strength and shouted the one name that came to mind, "INU YASHA!!"

The said person was clawing furiously at the invisible barrier that separated him from the creature that held Kagome. He should've known that this would happen. The creature seemed weak enough, and he could've easily beaten it alone, but the stubborn wench just _had_ to confuse him, and then rush off and get captured by the damn thing. 

"Stupid bitch." He muttered with a particularly energetic swipe of his claws. 

Suddenly someone screamed his name, there was a flash of blinding white light, a wordless shriek, and then nothing. With his determination refueled, he resumed his mad clawing at the barrier, only to discover that it disappeared. Not bothering to puzzle exactly how the barrier had disappeared, he rushed off in search of the idiot girl…only to have her run straight into him. She gave a small scream before looking up and realizing who it was. 

"Inu Yasha? Oh, I'm so glad it's you." Kagome smiled, the relief and joy evident in her voice…it was getting him nervous. What if she did something girly and stupid as hug him in joy? Better change the subject.

"Uh…did you kill the thing wench?"

Kagome's smile froze on her face, before it slid away and was replaced by a pensive pout. 

"Um, well, not really…"

"What do you mean not really? It's either dead or alive, which it?" he pressed with a scowl. 

"I don't know!" she shouted, "I didn't check to see; I just yelled and ran." _'But that's not entirely true!'_ her conscience added. Okay, she did yell and she did run, but right in the middle of the two actions a strange feeling seemed to rush through her veins, filling her with elation and power. It was like a pressure had been slowly building up inside of her, and it was only when she released it that she found out it was there. Only, the form of releases wasn't just a rush of adrenaline, it was a white-hot light that shot from her fingertips, leaving her hand trembling. And then she ran, too scared to see whether she had killed Yura or not. _'You should tell Inu Yasha. He should know, he might know what happened.'_ Her conscience screamed. 

"Oh shut up." She muttered under her breath. 

"What did you say?" Inu Yasha looked at her out of the corner of his eye. 

"Nothing." She smiled again. 

"…you're a strange wench." He observed, cracking his knuckles as he observed something, or rather, someone else. 

"Not to mention a total bitch." An all too familiar voice aged. Clenching her teeth and groaning, Kagome turned to face Yura…and did a double take. 

"Your—your body! How? I thought …"

"I was dead?" Yura finished her sentence. Laughing, she placed a perfectly clean and intact hand onto her equally intact cheek, "I thought so too. The little white light stunt almost killed me, you know. Then, I realized that I had what I needed," with a coy smile, she gracefully displayed her middle finger on which there was a strand of Kagome's hair. 

"The hair of a miko"

"Hey, give that back!" she demanded, making a dive for the hair. Nautrally, Yura pulled it out of harm's way, leaving Kagome to land face-first in the sand, not any closer to her goal.  Fortunately, Inu Yasha just managed to gather his confused wits and, instead of a mouthful of sand, an arm snaked around her waist, stopping her mere inches away from the ground. 

"Thanks." She said as he set her upright again. 

"Klutz." He grumbled. She rolled her eyes. 

"Forgetting someone, 'Yasha-kun?" Yura sulked. 

"Geez, didn't I kill you already ya hairy freak?" he growled, falling into a fighting stance. 

"You did such a sloppy job of it, I just couldn't die." She giggled, drawing the blade at her side.   
"What a fucking shame." He growled, leaping upwards and crashing down with a swipe of his claws. Yura easily evaded the attack, but he anticipated this and, with definitely inhuman speed, he slashed at her shoulder; to Kagome's disgust, the limb fell to the ground still gripping the blade. 

"Can't hold that blade any more, can you?" Inu Yasha taunted, but Yura only tsked, 

"Oh, 'Yasha-kun, when will you learn." She raised her un-severed arm and, before his ears could twitch in surprise, invisible strands of hair had slithered about Inu Yasha's wrists and ankles, pulling him upwards to hang seemingly in mid air. 

"As long as this little miko hair is wrapped around my finger," she kindly displayed the finger again, "you can't kill me." A strand of hair was reattaching the severed arm back onto her body. 

"Guess I'll just have to rip out your damn finger then." Inu Yasha smirked, ripping away from his bonds and using the momentum to propel himself towards Yura. 

"I'd like to see you try." Yura giggled, lifting her hand to send another wave of hair at Inu Yasha. She couldn't quite finish her typical flicking motion though…

"Ugh," she grunted, "trying to save your dog, babe?" despite her light words, she looked angrily at Kagome, who had her wrist clasped tightly in both of her hands. 

"Nope. Just giving him a chance to get a few hits in." Kagome smile, tightening the grip she now had on Yura's hand. 

"La?" Half turning her head, Yura managed to only let out a small cry before her one of Inu Yasha's claws hit her cheek while the other burrowed through her bosom and out of her back. 

"So foolish," the corner of her lips curled in annoyance. "This game's only for the big kid's mmkay, babe?" she chuckled, flinging Kagome easily over her head. She skidded across the sand for a few feet before slowing to stop. 

"Stupid bitch, get up!" Inu Yasha called over his shoulder as he rushed Yura again. She just side-stepped his attack and drew her blade again,

"I don't think she'll be getting up for a while 'Yasha-kun. Now how 'bout you draw that rusty katana at your side, and we'll have us a grand 'ole time." 

He glared at her, "That katana's useless."

"La? How come I've heard otherwise?" she asked, jumping up to balance on a strand of hair. 

"Don't know what you've heard, but trust me, it's useless." He growled, eyes darting over to Kagome's still form. Yura laughed and dove towards him,

"Draw it and we'll see."

He hesitated for a second before drawing the rusty katana out of its scabbard; that second of hesitation was a mistake. 

"Oops, too fast?" Yura teased, conjuring a hammock of hair on which she rested languidly. Maintaining eye contact with the, now ensnared, hanyou she casually licked his blood of her blade. 

"Whore." He snarled, watching the blood drip from the gash on his side. 

"How rude," she sniffed before she studied the rusty katana she held in her hand. Yawning she sighed, 

"Oh, I guess you're right 'Yasha-kun. There's really nothing interesting about this katana at all. Funny thing is, I heard rumors say that if you mastered it, this rusty, useless katana would turn into the very big, very useful Tetsusaiga. You do know what that is, right 'Yasha-kun? It's the blade your daddy used in order to protect your weak mother; the blade every youkai would die for." She tossed it at his feet and laughed at the murderous glare he gave her. 

"Down, doggy. Behave, or else I'll get your little girly over there to discipline you."

"Hey, just what are you implying?"

"Come on! It's obvious that she…" Yura retorted, trailing off when she heard Kagome's voice weakly call, 

"Inu Yasha!" In a flash, Inu Yasha had escaped his bonds, thrown the katana, point first, at Yura's face, and hurried to Kagome's side. She remained lying down but there was an almost insanely triumphant smile on her face. Sitting up, she shakily put a hand to her throbbing head, and then laughed. 

"Kagome are you okay?" 

"…"

"Kagome?"

"You said my name…" 

"Er--" he jerked backwards, "I did, didn't I?" even he seemed amazed at himself. His brows furrowed and she could see him chewing ponderously on his lip. He appeared to shrug away whatever thought entered his mind and smirked, 

"Don't get used to it wench."

"Forgetting someone, 'Yasha-kun?" a sulky voice demanded. 

"Inu Yasha, watch out!"

"Wh-" before he even finished a word his katana buried itself deep into his side. Grunting, he pulled it out and turned to Yura. 

"Why don't you just die already?"

"Can't. Playtime's over." Her face darkened suddenly, "You bore me now, and I'm hungry." 

A low growl rumbled from Inu Yasha's throat as he stepped protectively in front of Kagome, gripping his katana so tightly his knuckles turned white and his claws bit into the palm of his hand. In fact, he gripped the katana so tightly that he imagined he could feel it pulsating, but that, of course, was impossible…right?

"Just hurry up and come." He growled, more to himself then Yura. 

Yura ignored his comment and, after making a series of complicated patterns with her fingers, raised both of her hands over her head…and made a horrible discovery. Her hands dropped to her side the same time her eyes snapped over to Kagome. 

"You," she hissed, eyes pleading and angry at the same time. 

Inu Yasha turned to see what she was getting so worked up about, and spotted the strand of hair dangling between Kagome's forefinger and thumb. He also noticed the slightly triumphant smile that graced her lips and refused to disappear, even when Yura raced towards her, blade readied to strike. Just when she was about to deliver her blow Kagome gave the hair a small tug, causing it to split half. In a matter of second, Yura of the hair had been reduced to a pile of dust. 

***

"Ugh, I have a headache." Kagome muttered after a minute, standing up and brushing the sand off her skirt, "and you're hurt." She added as Inu Yasha partially collapsed. 

"It's nothing," he grimaced, lightly touching the bloodied wound at his side and holding back a wince. 

"You sure?"

"I said I'm fine." He snapped, and then continued after seeing the hurt look on her face, "I don't have a weak body like you; it'll heal in a day." 

"Okay, if you say so. As long as your ears are intact." She smiled; stopping at the deadpan stare he was giving her. 

"What! Do I have something on my face?" her hands flew up to check. 

"Your such a strange wench."

"What happened to Kagome?" He just smirked and asked a question of his own, 

"How did you get that hair? Did you rip off her finger?"

"No!" Kagome cried indignantly, "I would never do something that violent. Remember that time when I was holding onto her wrist, just before she chucked me into the sand? Well, I _gently_ slipped the hair off her finger." 

"It would've been easier to rip off her finger." He grumbled, starting to make his way towards the large doors they had wandered away from when fighting Yura. 

"I already tried violence remember?" she reminded him, blushing in embarrassment, "You saw how that turn out."

"Oh yeah, speaking of which….Don't you _ever_ do that again! What the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Huh?" was her oh-so-intelligent reply. His sudden change in tone was confusing…

"Don't give me that," he practically bellowed, "What were you thinking? Do you know how stupid you acted? That was a friggin oni pumped up on Bendela! Do you know how many people die from oni's alone?"

"A lot?" she suggested meekly. 

"A helluva lot! Don't you EVER do that again, EVER."

"Okay, okay! I'll never pick a fight with a hair-obsessed oni again."

"You better not." 

An uncomfortable silence befell them then as they slowly, clumsily continued towards the main entrance to the Bendela camp. That is, until Kagome suddenly stated,

"I didn't know you had a katana."

"Well, now you do."

She ignored him and continued, "And I _did_ manage to fight off Yura a little, you jerk, plus, how was I to know she was an oni? For the love of Kammi, I'm still in school!"

"Well I _told_ you not to fight, I to—" 

"No! You just said that it was none of our business; you never said the reason. You could've said I was too weak to handle the creature, or that I didn't have the skills, but noooo, you just said it was none of our business. I'm your partner, not your child!" 

Inu Yasha looked at Kagome's angry profile in surprise, 

"I never thought of you as my child!" he exclaimed. 

"Then stop treating me like one," she growled turning to face him. 

"Then stop acting like one." He growled back with a glare. 

They were about a foot away from the door, but Kagome knew a challenge when she saw one, and that glare Inu Yasha was throwing her was definitely a challenge. Planting her hands on her hips she narrowed her eyes and braced herself for, what she imagined would be one of the most interesting staring contests she ever had. 

Her strategy was simply to keep her eyes narrowed so they wouldn't dry out, while giving her opponent her glare of ultimate doom. …Only this time it didn't seem to be working. He wasn't cowering in fear like he should be; in fact he looked almost…amused? Amused! How dare he looked amused under the glare of doom! She kicked up the intensity of the glare one notch. This time he looked almost sad, wistful. Curious, she unconsciously leaned closer, her eyes widening a little. Oh, his eyes were scared now. _'How easily they show emotion_' she thought watching in fascination as they darted around nervously, blinking every once in while.

…wait, he blinked. She won! A huge grin spread across her face. _'I wiiiin, I wiiin!'_ she mentally chanted. Her mental celebration would've lasted longer if she hadn't caught sight of those gold eyes melt into confusion, then flash in anger. With a growl he pushed her away and spat, 

"What're you trying to pull?"

She couldn't answer because the large doors behind them had suddenly swung open revealing two red clad figures, one of which seemed slightly amused. 

"Follow us."

A/N: Woooooot! Finally I'm done with this chapter. It's taken me a total of three days to type this up, one day for each member of my family that uses the computer. You may think it's lame, but I think I'm actually kind of happy I'm not getting that many reviews. Every time I get a new one, I kind of cringe and hope something good is being said. I know, I know, reviews are meant to be productive as well, but the Qween isn't very good with criticism. -___-* Ah well, Ich muss gehen. My pizza calls for me…


	7. Some New Faces

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 6: Some New Faces

They were escorted into a vast, gold painted room with high-vaulted ceilings and richly embroidered tapestries hanging everywhere. The tapestries depicted scenes of a shimmering jewel, an alter, two lovers and, the largest tapestry of them all, a regal, strong-looking woman whose head was encircled by a crown of light or stars. It lent the room an air of great solemnity as well as a suppressed feeling of excitement that caused Kagome's fingers to tingle and her eyes to widen in awe. In the middle of the room there stood a single throne made of polished slabs of stone, bleached white from the sun and worn smooth by the desert sand. It had no ornament on it accept for a piece of metal skillfully wrought into the rune of royalty. 

On the throne sat a woman, fair of hair and skin, who Kagome could only assume was the Queen. She had a regal aura about her, and a beauty very much like the desert itself: wild, untamable, yet mysteriously beautiful. Despite her intimidating appearance, her voice was soft and measured when she smiled kindly and said, 

"Several of my people saw what you did through the court yard windows and up on the watch towers. They told me how you immediately ran to save my daughter from that oni ignoring your obvious lack of experience, and the great power and strength used to defeat the oni. We have been trying to rid ourselves of this creature all day and, as a result, many great Bendela have died needlessly. You may stay here as long as you want. Now, what are a hanyou and a schoolgirl from the Northlands doing here? You obviously didn't come to help us because we never sent for help; are you a part of a trading caravan?"

Inu Yasha snorted and tossed his head in disdain, "Hey, your highness, do you think a human caravan would let someone like me within ten feet of their goods?"

"No, I suppose not." The Queen reflected, looking speculatively at the pair, "What were your names again? I'm afraid I didn't catch them."

"My name's Inu Yasha, and our business is our own…if you don't mind." He forced out, his face portraying his obvious distaste at his polite words. Kagome almost smiled at him, but remembered just in time that she was supposed to be mad at him. Shooting a quick glare at the still wry-faced hanyou, she stepped forward, gave a small bow, and added, 

"And my name's Kagome. I apologize if my companion offended you at all. He still hasn't been fully house trained." A barely stifled swear followed her comment, causing her to smile in satisfaction. Giving one last bow, she stepped back to stand next to her fuming friend and ponder over the suddenly pale, startled looking Queen. 

"Shit." Inu Yasha openly growled, breaking the silence. 

"What?"

"She knows?"

"Huh?" She looked from the queen to the tense-looking Inu Yasha in confusion. 

"Inu Yasha, step forward," the Queen commanded so suddenly, that they both promptly and obediently stepped forward. Inu Yasha arched an amused eyebrow at Kagome, who just crossed her eyes back at him. 

"How far are you on your quest, Inu Yasha?" she asked, putting an end to their silent argument. 

"Feh. The wench's weak, so we're still on our way to the Devil's Nest." He answered; ignoring the dirty look Kagome threw him. 

"I see," the Queen nodded, a look of surprise on her face. She turned to look searchingly at Kagome, who refused to flinch under her piercing gaze. (Mentally she was running around in confusion and nervous-ness, but she avoided showing such thoughts)

"So young," the Queen murmured, more to herself then any body else. Still continuing her study of Kagome, she now addressed Inu Yasha, 

"Protect her well. She seems so young and naïve…she's stubborn though. Headstrong and intelligent too, though she doesn't appear so. She will be, but as of yet, she's not ready." Turning back to Inu Yasha, the look of surprise flew back onto her face. 

"Oh…neither are you." 

Inu Yasha accepted the statement without complaint, only bowing his head to glower at the floor while carefully avoiding Kagome's eyes. A loud snap echoed through the room and the two Bendela that had escorted them to the Queen earlier had reappeared at their sides. 

"I'll let you retire to your rooms now. You will be called for dinner. Take Mistress Kagome to the north east corridor and Master Inu Yasha to the west." 

As they were escorted out of the rooms, Kagome risked one last look over her shoulder and just caught sight the kindly smile dropping from the Queen's lips before she brought a trembling hand up to her face. Then they turned a corner, and the Queen and magnificent room disappeared from view. 

For a minute they walked in silence, each buried deep within their own thoughts. At the intersection of several corridors, Kagome froze, turned to Inu Yasha and spat, 

"You."

"What?"

"You know something I don't. Something important."

"What makes you think that?" he asked with an innocent smile; his sharps fangs marring effect. 

"Ha, very funny! Why else would you willingly tell the Queen so much?"

"She's the queen of the Bendela!" he retorted, as if that explained everything. "Plus, I was only being an obedient little doggy like you wanted me to be." He smirked arrogantly. Her eyes narrowed, 

"You didn't have to tell her all those details."

"Details?! What details?" he practically howled, "It's not like I told her how we met, and how long it took to get to Maesta Carta. I didn't even tell her about your mother!"

"Don't start on that," she snapped, "The point is you told her the status of our quest when there no one forcing you to, so obviously there's a valid, very important reason why you did. So tell me what it is. …is it about Kikyo?"

He looked at her in surprise, then scowled, "No."

"Is it about me?"

"What do you think?"

"Why don't you just tell me!" 

"…" 

"I'll say the s-word."

"Kami-sama, haven't you figured it out yet?"

"Obviously not." She said icily. 

"I'm talking bout your premonition, the runes I found, the Queen. C'mon wench, you're not that much of a dumb ass, are you?" Kagome's anger melted into confusion, and all she did was look down at the sandy floor, a puzzled expression on her face 

"The runes, the ones I know you read in my journal, they're about you."

"I figured that much out already."

"I can't imagine why, but did you figure out that you're going to be the Queen of the New Age?"

"Well n-no, but—" she stopped mid-sentence after seeing the smug look of triumph on Inu Yasha's face. Scowling, she asked, her voice filled with venom, 

"If I'm going to be queen, why are _you_ tagging along with me? Got nothing better to do?"

"That's none of your business, bitch."

"Considering how I'm traveling with you, I'd say it is." She replied coldly. 

"Like hell it is." He snarled.

"Yeah? Well you and your ego are making me stick so just get out of my face, you jerk!" She exploded, turning around and crossing her arms. 

"Oh yeah? Oh yeah?!" he shouted at her back, "Well I'll gladly leave! Who needs you any way? You're just some slutty, whiny, school-girl orphan who's useless, can't fight and has no friends!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately wished he hadn't. Her shoulders visibly sagged and he could smell something salty…'_Oh shit.'_

"Oi, Kagome," he began nervously, "You're not crying…are you? Not that I care." He added, his voice bordering on high-pitched. 

"Why do you care," she responded, her back still turned to him. He heard her sniff and quickly scrub at her eyes, "It's not like you have any one either."

"Ugh! You little—"

"Sit."

"SLAM."

"Bitch!"

"I'm going to my room now," she said, turning to face Inu Yasha. Even from where he was smashed flat on the ground, he could see how her eyes shone with unshed tears. _'Oh shit, oh shit…well, better mad then crying,'_ he thought to himself in a panic. Aloud he tried to shrug casually.

"Feh, whatever bitch. Fine." Her brows suddenly furrowed and an angry pout once again graced her features. 

"Fine."

"Fine." He said, a little louder with a smirk.

"Fine!" she shouted back, and stormed off down the corridor. 

She was still fuming when her Bendela escort caught up with her. They walked a few feet in silence before Kagome's posture seemed to droop and she sighed, 

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I haven't known Inu Yasha very long, but what I do know is that he's a violent, pig-headed, egotistical, all around jerk." She laughed, continuing to ramble on in this fashion as they made their way down the hall. They stopped in front of a large door, which, unlike the rest of the doors, which were wood, was heavy and made of what appeared to be granite. Crude, ancient runes were chiseled around the edges with a circle in the center of it. In the circle was smooth, upraised rune that looked newly carved.  

After gazing some-what respectively at the door, the Bendela turned to Kagome and said, 

"Here's your room Mistress." This was the first time she had spoken and Kagome found herself wishing she would again. Her voice was low, and melodious and so unlike the sharp, "twangy" voices of her friends in the Northlands that she couldn't help smiling in delight. 

"Oh! So you can talk! I was afraid you couldn't for a while. You can just call me Kagome, by the way."

Almost immediately the Bendela relaxed and, grinning, responded, 

"Kagome? That's a unique name, is it very popular in the Northlands? Oh, and my name's Sango." 

"Sango, that's a nice name." Secretly she thought the name was just as "unique" as Kagome, but she figured offending a Bendela was a bad idea. Especially since she was dressed in red, which she heard was a color reserved for only the most elite Bendela. 

The color of her clothes wasn't the only thing distinct about Sango. Physically she appeared very different from the other Bendela too. Her hair was dark black and her skin pale, whereas her fellow Bendela had mostly bleached blonde hair and heavily tanned skin. Sensing her thoughts, Sango explained,

"You're probably wondering why I look as unique as your name sounds. Well, I wasn't born a Bendela. They found me when I was a small child, wandering the desert. Apparently I was babbling about my brother or something, but I don't really remember any more." Stretching she yawned and smiled, "Well, now that I told you the story of my life you probably want me to leave."

"No, I—"

"I wasn't serious; I have to get back to the watch tower any way. If you need anything, just give a shout. You'll be told when dinner's ready." With that she waved and walked down the hall, her ponytail swinging back and forth in time with her footsteps. 

******

With little effort Kagome managed to push the seemingly heavy door open. Stepping into the room, it took little inspection for her to come to the conclusion that the room hadn't been used for several years. Light, white curtains covered the windows and, at the center of the room, was a large wooden bed. Blankets, with the same rune on the door embroidered onto them, covered the bed, which was surrounded by gauzy fabric. Everything in the room was covered in a thick layer of dust, yet the furniture, the blankets, they all looked new and unused. To further satisfy her growing curiosity, she opened all of the drawers she could find as well as the small door to the right of her nightstand. It ended up being a very small, dusty closet containing only two yellow eyes staring at her. 

Screaming, she almost shut the door on whatever it was in there but emerging from the shadows stepped the plump body of, 

"Mr. Toodles?"

"Mr. Toodles?" Another voice echoed. Turning, Kagome saw Inu Yasha in the doorway. 

"Oh. Haven't you ever heard of knocking? And what're _you_ doing here any way?" she asked haughtily.

"Uh, I was just passing through the hall and heard your scream so I came here to make sure you weren't dead." He shrugged indifferently, averting his eyes. Sensing a silent apology, Kagome gave a reluctant sigh,

"Thanks, I guess."

The tense atmosphere still hadn't lifted until she held up Mr. Toodles and, with a rueful smile, said, 

"Look who I found."

A/N: Wooot! School's finally out and I posted this chappy ASAP. Oh by the way, this story started out as an original creation, but I decided to "Yasha-tize" it. I have up to eight chapters pre-written so from chapter eight on I might be a bit slow on posting because I'll be writing the story as I go. But n e wayz, yeth, school's out but there was no interesting senior prank this year. L In fact, it was an all around cloudy, rather, dreary cold day. But I'm going to see Finding Nemo for the second time tomorrow so auf wiedersehen! Thank you soo much for the reviews. ^______^

~Qweeni


	8. Presents!

Age of the White Dawn 

Chapter 7: Presents!

Many days were spend peacefully within the safe walls of the Bendela camp. Kagome took to wandering the courtyard, ducking out of the way of intensely fighting Bendela. Most of them were clad in yellow or blue with an occasional green or orange, but rarely any red. Eventually she found her way up to the watch tower, where most of the red-clad Bendela's were staying, and viewed the sandy expanse of desert while chatting with Sango. As the days passed, Kagome noticed that the oni and neak sightings were becoming more frequent, thus signifying that the time to leave was drawing close. Inu Yasha had, much to her surprise, quietly confided to her during a particularly loud dinner that, when they left, they would sneak out on foot. It puzzled her as to why they had to sneak out, but she figured that him telling her his plans in the first place was a miracle enough, and didn't want to push her luck. 

It was about mid-morning one sunny day when Inu Yasha looked up from his journal and stated, 

"Today, we leave." He was sprawled lazily in a chair in the corner of Kagome's room facing the window. The shutters had been flung open to let the bright sun and warm breeze in. Kagome sat on her bed, studying from a book she claimed was on the required reading list at her school. Looking up from it, she wore an expression of faint surprise. 

"Oh, okay then." was all she said, though. 

Sango was in the room too, dressed in a simple yukata now that her guarding shift was over. She was sitting on the floor next to her the window and had turned at the sound of Inu Yasha's voice. Displaying no signs of surprise, she softly voiced, a wistful look o n her face,

"I wish I could go with you."

Kagome threw an uneasy look at Inu Yasha. Throughout their stay at the camp she and Sango had grown very close and a Bendela would be a very comforting companion to have when traversing east. Inu Yasha just shook his head, they had gone over this before. Unaware of the silent conversation that had passed Sango continued, 

"Oh, wouldn't it be nice to see something other then the desert. Go on an adventure, save the world...but," she sighed, "I'm greatly indebt to her highness, and it would be treason and unfair to abandon her, especially now." She turned back to the window, her dark eyes focusing on some distant, probably non-existent object in the distant. 

Falling back into silence, they each resumed what he/she was doing: Kagome studies, Inu Yasha wrote, and Sango gazed out the window while absently stroking Mr. Toodles who rested on her lap. The peaceful silence was broken by a sharp rap on the door and, without waiting for a response, two grim-looking Bendela entered the room. 

"Come with us."

It was Sango's turn to look surprised, "Shelleta? Marina?" what's going on?" There was no response, only a repeat if their earlier command. Kagome looked worriedly at Inu Yasha who just calmly closed his journal, placed it on the chair, and walked towards them. 

They were lead through the labyrinth of corridors to the vast chamber they were brought to the first time Inu Yasha and Kagome had entered the Bendela camp. 

"Hello, it's nice to see you again. Forgive me for not seeing you more often. I've had urgent business to attend to. I trust your stay has been comfortable?" the Queen greeted them, a serene smile on her face. There were a few fresh flowers tucked behind her ear that day, and an attempt at a festive air that failed miserably once one noticed how gaunt her face suddenly seemed to be, and the delicate lines fringing the corner of her eyes. 

Both Kagome and Inu Yasha nodded while Sango surveyed the Queen, a grave, confused expression etched in her features. 

"Good, good," the Queen murmured, "and I supposed you're wondering why I called you here. Well, to get straight to the point, I know what you're going to do. Don't interrupt me yet," she smiled, holding her hand up to keep Kagome from rushing to explain. "I'm not going to stop you. What I'm going to do is further express my gratitude to you." she waved towards the two stern Bendela who had escorted them there. They now carried various objects in their arms which they placed in front of their respective owners. 

The one called Marina placed, much to her confusion and surprise, a quivers of arrows and a bow at Kagome's feet. '_I've never shot an arrow in my life_,' she thought in dismay. _'I'm probably going to end up breaking this...'_ She ran her hand over the curve of the bow and was, once again, surprised. _'The wood is...textured?'_ Bringing the bow about an inch away from her nose for closer inspection, she saw that millions of small runes had been intricately etched onto the surface of it. They glowed blue for a moment, and Kagome felt the wood of the bow warm under palm, but then she looked away and the runes returned to their original inconspicuous state. As for the arrows themselves, the feathers had been individually dyed dark greens, bright reds and pale blues. One of them had a pure white feather on it, and Kagome unconsciously resolved to avoid using that one if possible. 

Inu Yasha received a new haori, much brighter and clean looking then his old, battered one. He felt the cloth and smirked before pulling it on, 

"Nice. It's fire rat fur. Better and stronger then any metal." Kagome didn't get a chance to see the next item that was placed in front of Inu Yasha. As soon as it was placed at his feet he didn't hesitate to swipe it off the floor and turn his back to Kagome. She guessed by how long he took that he had taken the item, whatever it was, and had tucked it carefully into the folds of his new haori. But what item could be so important that he would hide it from her? 

Meeting Kagome's questioning gaze, he merely reddened before scowling and tossing his head. Rolling her eyes, she turned to the Queen and, rather shyly, clasped her hands behind her back.   
"Thank you so much, your highness. These gifts are wonderful, but it should be us expressing gratitude to you. We," she hesitated, "We did as anybody would in that situation. Either we killed Yura, or she killed us so...yeah..." she finished, bowing humbly like a naughty school girl apologizing to her teacher. 

Smiling at her sincerity the Queen soothed, "These gifts are in gratitude for the tasks you will accomplish in the future. Sango," her voice was suddenly sharp and commanding as she addressed the Bendela for the first time. 

"Yes?" she stepped stiffly to the base of the throne.

"There has been word that you wish to leave us. Leave me--" 

"Oh no, your highness! I would never leave you!" Sango said hurriedly, a distressed look on her face.

"Not even if I allow you to?"

"What?"

"I'm letting you go," the Queen smiled, then froze and seemed to re-think her statement, "No," she mused, "I'm ordering you to escort Mistress Kagome to wherever she goes." Looking piercingly into Sango's eyes she said, her voice low, 

"Protect her with your life."

A/N: Ooooh. Uber dramatic man. Well, that was fun. But you know what's even more fun? SUMMER BREAK! WOOOT! Hey, people now that I got a sip from the "cup of review-receiving" I think I like the taste, so review some more bitte! While you do that, I'll type up the next chappy. I'm warning you though, there will be some fluff in a kind of erm...demented not really fluff but is kind of way. o.0 yeah. 

~Qweeni


	9. Meat, No water, Scents and Sand wars

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 8: Meat, No Water, Scents and Sand Wars...oh my

Kagome groaned in irritation and massaged her sinuses. It had been at least three days since Sango, Inu Yasha, Mr. Toodles and she left the Bendela camp. With Sango coming along, she had expected a steady flow of conversation, but found only silence. Thus she was forced to take up thinking about unimportant thoughts, like she had done earlier, while trudging through the blaring white sand. She groaned again, and this time, was answered by a groan from Sango. 

"What's wrong Kagome? You can't be tired, so what's driving you to groan like it?"

"I'm bored."

"...that's it?"

"No. It's just that at the camp we talked all the time, but ever since we've been traveling you've been quiet. You've wanted to talk, don't deny it. I've seen you open your mouth over a dozen times to say something, but you never do." Kagome looked expectantly at Sango, who just watched her feet. 

"W-well, I just thought that, well, you know! Friendship between protector and protected endangers both of them and jeopardizes the mission." her voices was suddenly cold and uniformed. Kagome looked at her in bewilderment,

"Protector? Protected? We were friends first right? Plus Inu Yasha'll protect me...er, I think he will. Look, if you really want to help me, teach me how to defend myself when you're not around." It took a few more minutes until she was convinced, but Sango finally grinned and gave in, 

"Okay then. But only if you train extra hard. Deal?" She stuck out her hand. Grinning as well, Kagome took it. 

"Deal. Now, let's go. Inu Yasha's leaving us behind." And, laughing, they struggled to catch up with Inu Yasha (In the end, Inu Yasha had to stop and wait for them to catch up)

"Took you long enough." he snorted as he began to walk again, Kagome and Sango at his side this time. At Sango's surprised expression he snapped, 

"What?"

"Don't mind him," Kagome sighed, tweaking the hanyou's ears (much to his annoyance) "He was behaving really well at the camp, but this is how he usually acts."

"Oh."

"What were you two wenches up to any way?"

"Just talking. How about you?" Kagome asked, shifting the bow and large canteen slung over her shoulder. 

"Thinking."

"About what?" Sango asked.

"The progress we made and how far we have to go." he answered. 

"That's all?" Kagome knew she was pushing her luck in asking, Inu Yasha never opened up, but she was eager to contribute to the sudden flow of conversation. 

"Of course not." he snorted, "I was thinking of other things too. My mind isn't that simple."

"Really? Prove it." Kagome challenged, displaying a smirk of her own to get the message across. 

"How?" His ears pricked upwards, detecting the challenging note in her voice. 

"Tell us what you were thinking." Sango suggested. 

"Erm-well, uh..." he stuttered, his face taking on a strange expression. 

"Well?"

The slight curve at the corner of his mouth disappeared as he replied shortly, "I think about hot rolls."

Kagome snorted, "Right."

Laughing, Sango looked at Inu Yasha out of the corner of her eye, 

"I think I know what he was thinking about ,Kagome, but the sun is high and I think it's about time for a lunch break."

The other two agreed and they settled down to eat at the very base of a sand dune covered in clumps of plants with limp velvety leaves. Mr. Toodles proceeded to munch happily on the half-dead plants, but his human companions didn't posses his acquired taste; they chose to eat the dried strips of meat they received before they left the Bendela camp instead. 

Gnawing on the tough piece of meat, Kagome found she was accomplishing nothing but getting the meat soggy. She looked to Sango in hopes of visually finding out how to get a chunk of the meat without permanently damaging her teeth, but the Bendela had already finished her piece and was using the extra time too take a nap. Glaring at the soggy, but tough, piece of meat, she gripped it tightly in her teeth before tugging at it. When that had no affect she proceeded to tug and flail about like a dog playing with its rope toy. Speaking of dogs...

Kagome turned and redirected her glare at a certain part dog demon snickering at her, the stubborn piece of meat still clenched between her teeth. The sight caused his snickering to grow in volume.

"Hey, aren't I supposed to be the dog here?" he teased. Needless to say, Kagome was delighted by Inu Yasha's suddenly good mood, but then again, his mood was brought about by her embarrassing predicament. She pouted (which was a rather hard action considering the stupid piece of meat was still in her mouth) and opened her mouth to deliver her cutting response but then, thanks to Mr. Gravity, the meat fell out of her mouth and onto the sand, causing Inu Yasha's snicker to elevate into a mix of a snort and a chuckle. 

"Nice one."

"Oooh! Look what you made me do! It's all sandy now," she whined, aware that her voice was causing the flattening of Inu Yasha's ears. 

"It's not my fault that you're clumsy." he sniffed, cocky as ever, before picking up the meat and rubbing it against his haori. 

"See," he said, presenting the meat to her, "It's still good." Kagome looked at it dubiously. "What now wench?"

"I can't eat it."

"Why the hell not? I cleaned it off, didn't I?"

"It's not that," she mumbled, pouting at the meat on his outstretched hand. 

"Then what is it?" he tried to keep his ears from twitching in irritation, that would only distract her, and gods knew what she would do then. 

"There's nothing actually wrong with the meat itself. I told you before _I_ can't eat it." she snapped, blushing. _'How embarrassing.' _

"Huh? Ooh!" he exclaimed in realization. As the full meaning of her words sunk in, a grin, more like a stretched out smirk, spread across his face, radiating so much arrogance, he should've been fined. 

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Cracking his knuckles he sighed and tossed his head, "Do I have to do everything for you wench?" Not waiting for an answer, he casually tossed the meat up into the air, slashed at it with his claws, and watched four perfectly bite-sized pieces of meat fall into Kagome's cupped hands. 

Okay, maybe he had overdone it a little. He could've easily cut the piece of meat without it ever leaving the ground...but the semi-annoyed, semi-delighted expression on Kagome's face wasn't one that was seen everyday. Inu Yasha couldn't tell whether she was going to clap her hands in childish surprise or sucker punch him before sitting him twenty times. He winced and fervently prayed that she chose the harmless former. 

It ended up Kagome didn't choose the former or the latter, as appealing as the latter was, but settled on the third option. This basically consisted of eating the semi-soggy pieces of meat in a silence that unnerved Inu Yasha as much as the thoughtful look she occasionally gave him. 

__

'Okay, just calm down,' he told himself as Kagome glanced over at him, '_Just don't crack and do something you'll regret. Breathe in, out, in, out...' _ She glanced over at him yet again, chewing slowly on her meat, '_Silence too thick,'_ his ears began twitching, '_I need to say something before she looks over again...'_

"Oy bitch, gimme the water." he growled, the "request" coming out a lat harsher then he meant. She seemed unperturbed, though, merely shrugging and handing him the canteen, still chewing slowly, still glancing over...he took a big swig from the canteen before looking questioningly at Kagome. 

Unbeknownst to Inu Yasha, she had been thoroughly enjoying herself. She was aware that she was getting him nervous, and such power only fell into her hands once in a pink moon; why not take advantage of that? So she continued ponderously eating her lunch, getting a sort of sadistic pleasure out of seeing him squirm. That was before he actually looked at her, though. Now _she_ was the one getting squirmy.

"Y-yes, Inu Yasha?"

"Why'd you give me the empty canteen, wench?" he asked, tossing it back to her. 

'What do you mean empty? This is the full one, Sango's sleeping on the empty one." She tossed it back to Inu Yasha, hoping he was just getting back at her. No such luck. 

At the sound of her name, Sango had woken up and instinctively reached for her swords, but seeing that it was only Inu Yasha and Kagome, relaxed and asked, her words, slurred with sleep, 

"Whas going on?" 

"Inu Yasha made a mistake and thinks that our last canteen's out of water," Kagome explained with a nervous laugh. 

"That's because there _is_ no water." Inu Yasha growled, "See, there's a hole right here. We must've lost all of it in a day," he chucked the canteen to the ground in disgust. 

"What are you saying?" Kagome asked, wide-eyed. (A/N: Geez, she's just a leetle thick...)

"I'm saying we're out of water!" he snapped. 

"For how long?"

"If we go back it'll take three days. If we go on, the closest town's three day away. We're pretty much stuck," her smirked bitterly. 

Sango gave a grim nod of resignation, "We better get moving."

Kagome just stared at the two in dismay. _'Three days? Three days!'_ her mind screamed. Three hours under the desert sun alone drained her, how could she survive three days? She couldn't. Maybe they could last three days without water, they were used to such rigorous conditions, but she had lived in nothing but comfort and luxury all of her life; water was always a given. To make matters worse, her eyes were beginning to brim with unwanted tears. Sniffling, she willed them to go away, but that seemed to make the situation even worse. A lone tear spilled over when Sango placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and asked, 

"Are you okay, Kagome?"

Kagome sniffled and shook her head, "I'm sorry," she apologized, choking back the lump rising in her throat. "It's just that I don't know if I'll be able to last that long without water, but I'll try, really I will, I'm just warning you that..." she stopped, realizing her voice was starting to break. Another tear escaped and slid down her cheek. 

"Ugh, don't cry wench." Inu Yasha ordered, once again nervous. He had only made the stupid girl cry twice, but each time he felt like plopping down and bawling along with her...not a pretty sight. 

"What," Kagome snapped, tears still gathered in her eyes and trapped in her lashes, "Should I be laughing?"

"No! Argh, I'll find you some water, okay?"

"What?"

"Look, I'll find you your water so you don't have to wait three days for it, j-just don't cry any more, okay?"

She sniffed and nodded, "Promise?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever I promise-- just don't get all weepy on me."

Kagome smiled, feeling reassured, which was a far cry from the expression and emotions Sango was experiencing. 

"And how exactly do you intend to keep that promise?" she demanded. He smirked and tapped his nose, "My sense of smell is ten times better then you weak humans' Now shut up," and with the utmost look of concentration, he began pacing back and forth, face turned upwards to sniff the air. Still sniffing, he turned right and trotted off in that direction, an anxious Kagome and bemused Sango trailing behind. 

"He kinda does act like a dog, doesn't he?" she whispered conspiratorially behind her hand. Kagome nodded and whispered back, 

"Yeah, he even has the eating habits of one."

"I can hear you, you know. And didn't I say shut up?" the one being discussed growled in a very dog-like manner. Kagome smiled despite their dire situation, "Sorry." 

He ignored her and suddenly fell to his hands and knees. As the sound of sniffing continued to steadily increase, Inu Yasha began crawling to and fro, an angry scowl on his face, "Where'd it go, it was right there," he muttered, rubbing some sand off his nose, "Hm...maybe, maybe..." he resumed his sniffing again, this time his ears swiveling in every possible direction. Kagome watched in fascination as the cute little ears rapidly turned left, then right, then swiveled back to their original position...

"Don't even think about it, wench," Inu Yasha's voice warned. 

"What? I wasn't even thinking about touching your soft, fluffy, adorable little ears. What are you doing any way?"

"Listening for running...running...water!" he exclaimed triumphantly, jumping up and sniffing the air to confirm what his ears had picked up. 

"Really? Where?"

"Right under us."

Kagome looked down at her feet, then looked quizzically up at Inu Yasha,

"Uh...are you sure your ears aren't broken or something, because I don't see any water-"

"Of course not, you idiot!" he interrupted, "Damn, didn't that school teach you anything? Not all water runs above ground, you know."

"Huh? That's imp--"

"Of course!" Kagome was, once again, interrupted, this time by Sango's soft exclamation. "You know, he's smarter then he looks." she informed Kagome, jerking her thumb in Inu Yasha's direction in case there were any doubts as to who she was referring to. He opened his mouth to retort, but instead chose to throw the Bendela a patronizing glare before returning to the more important matter at hand. 

"Kay, since we don't have shovels and shit like that we'll have to--"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kagome cut in, the interrupter this time, "Take a leap and two step back, and stop." she held two hands up for emphasis, "Now, can someone tell me where exactly this water is? And uh...that was just an expression Inu Yasha."

A red-faced Inu Yasha sheepishly returned to his original spot next to Kagome while an amused Sango explained, 

"As Inu Yasha said, the water is right under us, but probably in the form of some kind of under water river. Either that, or we're standing on a dried lake bed."

"Oh, okay...so, how do we get to it?"

"Well, before I was interrupted," Inu Yasha threw Kagome a dirty look, "I was gonna demonstrate--"

"Oooh, three syllables."

Another dirty look. 

"I was going to demonstrate how we would get water." 

"Oh really? By all means, do proceed."

Inu Yasha smirked and, with a superior air, instructed, "First, you bend down. Bend down!" he repeated; reluctantly they complied. Ego inflated by their compliance, he continued, "Then you stand with your feet apart like so-like so bitch! Heh, good. Then you simply push the dirt back rapidly with your arms."

"...why didn't you just say we would be digging with our hands?" Sango asked, repositioning herself so she wasn't waving her butt around in the air like an idiot. Inu Yasha displayed his trademark smirk, 

"Nah. Too easy."

"Either that or you're just a pervert." Kagome added just discovering how high up her skirt could ride without her noticing. Tugging it down again, she began using her arms to shovel at the sand. Inu Yasha gaped at her in disbelief, 

"Y-you think I actually want to see you like-like that?" he sputtered, joining the two girls at the hole they were working at. 

"I'm not that hideous." Kagome grumbled, glaring at him before she scooted over and began working on widening the hole. 

"Damn, you're so freaking sensitive. Did I say you were hideous?" he growled, rapidly shoveling sand over his shoulder.

"Well, no...but you implied it!"

"Feh," he snorted, "You want me ogling you, is that it? Do you want me asking what color your friggin underwear is?" the statement caused Kagome to blush furiously and instantly protest,

"No, no!"

"Then what the hell do you want?!

"Whoever said I _wanted _something?!"

"Kami your impossible!" he snapped. Kagome threw her hands up in exasperation, flinging a pile of, now, semi-wet sand into the air in the process, 

"See what I was talking about!" she called over Inu Yasha's head to Sango, who gave her a sympathetic smile before she resumed digging. Kagome sighed and soon followed suit; minutes lapsed in silence allowing time for the hole to transform into a sort of shallow ditch and for tempers to cool down. 

Pausing to pick out the sand jammed painfully under her nails, Kagome seized this opportunity to voice the question that had been nagging her since she first met Inu Yasha, 

"Who's Kikyo?"

"Wha?" he quickly looked up from the hole in surprise, before just as quickly looking down again. "Where did that come from?"

Kagome shrugged, "I don't know. I was just kind of wondering who she was."

"How do you know about her any way?"

"Er-well-you mistook me for her, remember?"

"Oh, yeah."

"So, who is she?"

He didn't speak for a moment, and then, quietly, "She was a girl I knew back ho-no," he interrupted himself, brows lifting in surprise, then furrowing deep in thought, "No, she was a girl I knew at the village I was staying at."

"Oh." was the only semi-intelligent reply Kagome could think of. What else could she say to someone about such an obviously sensitive subject? Because Kagome could tell b y his quiet reply and glowering features alone that this Kikyo, whoever she was, was a major part of Inu Yasha's character. The way he never mentioned her or uttered her name was evidence of how precious she was, or had been, to him; let alone the confusing way his eyes seemed to soften yet grow bitter at the same time when he vaguely described her. Kagome dug harder at the dirt; judging by all those hints and clues as well as the small conversation she had heard when flipping through his book, she knew, naive as she was, that the Kikyo girl and Inu Yasha were in love. Perhaps he loved her even now. She stopped her suddenly energetic ministrations to bring a sand-covered hand to her chest. How funny, it was almost as if that thought was the cause of the pain that had lanced through her chest. 

"What's with the pitying expression, wench?" Inu Yasha's irritated voice growled, forcing her out of her thoughts. 

"Er, what? Oh, sorry." she hadn't realized she'd been staring... Quickly returning to digging, she waited a minute before casually asking, 

"Do I look like her?" There was no need to clarify who "her" was.

"Yeah...a-a lot like her actually."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

He snorted, "Not your fault."

They fell into silence again, then "Do I act like her?"

He snorted again, this time in what she guessed was amusement, "Well, you're stubborn as hell, just like her, but other then that you're absolutely different. She was calm, reserved and poised and you, you're-" he smirked, not looking up from the spot he was digging at, "You're loud, wear your emotions on your sleeve and couldn't be poised if you got to sit me fifty times for it." He glanced up at her to see her reaction, then froze. Uh-oh. He didn't like that sad, thoughtful look she was giving the sand...

"And you smell different too." he hastily added. 

"Really? How?" she looked at him and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. 

"Uh, well, she smelled like lavender."

"And I?"

"You?" He stopped digging. What _did_ she smell like? He hadn't taken the time to clearly identify her scent. Shrugging he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, '_Now's a better time then any, I guess.'_ Sifting through the many scents that assailed his sensitive nose he tuned out the gritty scent of sand, the musty, rather disgusting smell of cat and focused wholly on the scent emanating from the girl digging to his right; he almost jolted in surprise when he honed in on it. Underneath all that dirt and sweat and grime the girl's scent was actually sort of... pleasant. It was like-he took another deep breath-rain. 

A sudden vision, almost like a vivid memory came to mind. It was a warm, summer evening in late June and the grass was slick from the shower that had passed overhead earlier that day. The skies had been gray with clouds then, but now they were clear with stars and fireflies winking against purple and dark blue. Inu Yasha himself was smaller, younger; in this place there was excitement and innocence coursing through his blood. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, yes, she smelt of a June evening washed clean by a summer shower.

"Well? How's my scent different then Kikyo's?" she snapped impatiently. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked owlishly at her. "Uh, are you okay Inu Yasha?"

"I'm fine."

"That's nice. So are you going to tell me?" she asked expectantly, still digging. He stretched and began digging again without replying. Glancing nonchalantly at her out of the corner of his eye he suppressed the urge to shudder. He was not expecting to be given the ultimate glare of death that day, especially from Kagome, so he relented and graciously responded, 

"Tell you what?" 

"How is my scent different then hers?"

He gazed at her thoughtfully. _'June evening...rain...yeah right. Like I'm going to tell her that shit.'_ Kagome began to feel nervous under his ponderous gaze and focused more then ever on the section of the hole she was digging at. 

"You wreak of that damn cat."

She gaped at him, "You jerk!" Grabbing a handful of dirt she flung it at him, but, due to his quick reflexes, he easily dodged it. Of course, according to the laws of the universe, the thrown object hit the innocent bystander, who just happened to be Sango. 

"Okay," she growled (scary!) wiping the sand off her cheek, "Who threw that?"

Kagome pointed innocently to Inu Yasha, who promptly received a handful of dirt in his face. 

"What was that for?!"

"Kagome said you threw sand at me."

"And you believed her?"

"Of course."

"You do know that both of you bitches are gonna pay for that." he smirked, subtly grabbing some dirt in each hand. 

"Yup."

"Of course."

"Don't say I didn't warn you wench..."

Naturally, a ridiculous, pointless sand war ensued in which Inu Yasha got sand up his nose, Sango got sand in her eyes, Kagome's face was gritty enough to be sand paper, everyone got sand in their hair and Inu Yasha's vocabulary was so colorful that it sufficed for the relatively bland-colored scenery. It would have lasted for hours if something wet and slimy hadn't hit Kagome's hair and cheek. 

"Hold it!" she boomed, "SOMEONE threw mud in my hair." Her eyes narrowed and darted around suspiciously. "Who did it? Who threw mud-wait, mud? Mud means wet, wet means water. We're getting closer to water!" she smiled excitedly, just remembering how parched her lips felt. 

"It's getting close to around two o'clock I think, so let's hurry and dig some more before it gets too hot." she suggested, sobering. Inu Yasha rolled his eyes. 

"No need."

"Huh"

"Everyone get outta the hole."

"Why?"

"Just do it Kagome."

Grumbling the two females climbed out of the hole, now partially filled with mud. Cracking his knuckles, Inu Yasha kindly displayed his trademarks smirk again, 

"Now, watch while I get your water, wench."

Sango gave the hanyou a withering look, "Let me guess. You're going to dig again?"

"Senkon Tessou!"

"Or not." 

The two girls were showered with clumps of mud, and a cloud of sand temporarily blocked the hole from view. When the sand finally settled and the hole was visible again, Kagome was delighted to see that it was filled to the brim with water. The water was slightly muddy, but it was water none the less. But where was Inu Yasha?

Thump.

"I filled the canteens up, wench. So, both of you hurry up and drink." Sango cheerily complied, but Kagome hung back a moment. 

"What _now?_"

"What about you, Inu Yasha?"

"Me?" he looked at her in surprise, "Feh. I'm stronger then you weak humans, remember?" She still hesitated. "Plus I already had some."

"Oh okay." she smiled before eagerly going to wet her dry mouth. The water had a strange, almost metallic taste to it, but it was cool in comparison to the sun beating mercilessly down the back of her neck and she was thirsty. When she had drunk her fill, she let out a content sigh. 

"That was nice."

"A lot better then waiting for three days for water." Sango added, also content. 

Inu Yasha opened his mouth, most likely to add one of his "stronger-then-you" comments, but a sudden cat-like shriek filled the air. A hissing Mr. Toodles streaked out from behind a sand dune. 

"What on earth? Mr. Toodles what's wrong?" Kagome attempted to pacify the creature, but it merely scratched at her outstretched arms before it fled over the next sand dune.

'What the hell?" Inu Yasha asked, standing up and tensing.

"I don't know," Kagome answered, shrugging helplessly. She winced and clutched the three bleeding scratches in her arm before continuing, "Ever since we left the school he's been acting strange."

"I'll go get him," Sango volunteered. With an almost evil grin she added, "But I can't guarantee he'll be alive. The thing doesn't deserve to live after scaring me like that."

"Cat stew sounds lovely tonight." Kagome called to Sango who also laughed before disappearing over the same sand dune Mr. Toodles had. Still chuckling softly, she knelt down by the water-filled hole and gingerly washed her scratched up arm. It was then that she noticed Inu Yasha hadn't moved at all, and that he was incredibly tense. 

"What's wrong?" she asked, standing up and moving next to him. Squinting through the sun's rays, she looked curiously in the direction he was gazing so stonily at. All she saw was sand and sun, but Inu Yasha's nervous state was contagious and she almost _felt _a crackling, excited tension coming from that direction. Her fingers tingled as Inu Yasha cracked his knuckles and replied, 

"Something's coming."

A/N: Whew! Finally that's done with. I admit, it's a bit of a pointless chapter but it's the first chapter of this story that wasn't pre-written from last year. Yay! I've come to the conclusion that "the people" a.k.a. the people who review, are very difficult to fathom. I mean, I've been looking through the fic archives and there are some really awesome stories with great dialogue and character relations and plot and everything, but they've gotten only 22 reviews. Whereas some fics are good but can do better, and they have about 100. I don't get it. But then again, some of those reviews might be constructive criticism and not just good sugary compliments. Meh. I dunno. Just some brain food there. Of course, me thinking is never a good thing, especially in summer, so I should probably stop before I hurt myself. :) Hope u enjoyed this chapter!

~Qweeni


	10. KungFu Kagome

A/N: Hey ya'll, I decided to put the 'lil note before the story instead today. Why? I don't really know, but hey, whatever. Cha, n e wayz, I warn you, despite the kewliobeens title this chapter is uber boring. I would probably skip over it, and I wouldn't have written it at all, but it is rather necessary to the story. And I'm sorry it took so long to post, but I was having a major case of writer's block. So I had to chop one chapter into two in order to keep both me and you from getting bored to death. …then again, you have to deal with this boring, short chapter. Ah well, you can just skip it if you want, I won't die. I'm going to the fair tomorrow. My little sister wants to hear the lelaine chicky-poo from lizzie mcguire sing…  So jaman, ho hum. Have fun.

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 9: Kung-Fu Kagome

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Most would answer, "to get to the other side," but Kagome knew better. Oh yes, she knew why that idiotic chicken attempted to cross that damn road. It wasn't merely to take a leisurely stroll, but, in fact, to put as much distance between itself and the horde of neaks and norifs hotly pursuing it. Very much like what Kagome was doing now, only there were no roads she could possibly place between her and the youkai chasing after her. And what good would a road in the middle of the desert do her, any way? Couldn't they just fly or walk over it even? She mentally laughed at the insane turn her thoughts were taking; she would have laughed a loud but that would require breathing, an action she was finding rather difficult. 

It had ended up that the "something" Inu Yasha had sensed earlier was a small militia consisting of up to two dozen angry-looking neaks and norifs. They had exploded over a sand dune just minutes ago and, already, the area resembled a demented blood bath or war zone. 

Inu Yasha had briefly ordered her to take the water canteen and seek refuge over the next sand dune before he "gallantly" went off to decapitate a few neaks. Unfortunately, as Kagome obediently ran towards the next dune, a small pack of neaks and a norif or two decided to suddenly take interest in and pursuer her. So there she was, running psychotically away from a handful of youkai, out of breath and think delusional thoughts. Her legs were beginning to feel heavy, arms numb, throat dry, and the sound of her arrow knocking against each other was grating her nerves. 

_'…I have arrows,'_ she thought, jerking to a stop,_ 'God! I'm so stupid! Why didn't I think of this earlier?_' She clumsily fished one out of her quiver, and let her eyes quickly sweep over the area, evaluating her situation (basically deciding whether Inu Yasha would be able to hear her if she called for help) before her pursuers caught up to her. 

The first of the youkai that attacked her was a neak, spitting black, acidic poison. It had the torso of a very deranged looking woman while the rest of its body was that of a snake. Emitting a high-pitched shriek, similar to the groan of a dieing woman, it whipped its tail around and tripped the unprepared kagome off her feet. Fortunately for her, neaks are incredibly dumb creatures, and this one was no different. Flinging its stringy black hair over its shoulder, it threw its head back and made a strange gurgling noise. It was only when she looked back on the battle later that day that she realized that the gurgling sound was actually laughter. 

Anyway, at that time she didn't know the neak was laughing at her, nor did she really care; she was too busy racking her brain for a plan to herself out of this situation. And, to complicate the situation further, the rest of the youkai pack that had been chasing after her had almost caught up. How was she going to deal with them?

_'Okay, whew. Just breathe. One step at a time, Kagome, one step at a time.'_ She chanted, tightening her grip on the arrow she still clutched. 

_'Okay, okay. First, deal with the one in front of you, then you can deal with the rest.'_

Tensing her muscles, she grabbed a handful of sand and flung it into the neaks face, distracting it so it wouldn't see her quickly jump up and blindly ram the end of her arrow into its chest. It died with a small wail and a burst of black poison that narrowly missed Kagome's face. She would have been stunned if she had the time, but she didn't. Instead, she scrambled over to the still body and pulled the arrow out, relieved to find that the acidic poison didn't affect it. Her relief was short lived; the rest of the cavalry had arrived, and there was six of them and only one of her. Kami, she loved her life. 

They attacked her as one unit, but with little organization or strategy. This was a good thing since she didn't have much of a strategy either, just a simple pattern of thrust, dodge, thrust, dodge…

Any time a neak died it released a fountain of poison and, despite her efforts to avoid the hazardous substance, flecks of it managed to land on her hands, causing them to ache and turn red; still she continued her pattern of dodging and thrusting until her enemy was reducted to the two norifs who accompanied the five, now dead, neaks. All of them sported some kind of injury: one norif had gash on its flank, the other a scratch across its nose, and Kagome had a shiny burn mark running from her elbow down to her index finger. Yes, painful. But not half as painful as just watching the two norifs slowly circle her, licking their lips hungrily. 

Kagome eyed the two creatures warily as they circled her for the fifth time. They were smart. Unlike their slithery friends, they probably had some plan brewing in their minds, and they knew she dare not attack under such circumstances. They reminded Kagome of huntresses, closing gracefully in on their prey. Which made absolute sense considering norifs were like lions except their manes and tails weren't fure, but fiery flames and, instead of eating food raw, they cooked it with their, literally, burning breath. 

"Tonight we will be serving roasted Kagome," she mumbled to herself, trying to lighten the mood of her impending death, "Would you like her rare or well done? Beverages? Why not some of Kagome's blood, finest stuff you'll find. Pure, if you know what I mean," she mumbled on, not really paying attention to herself any more; she had just noticed something. Every time the norifs circled her, they would always meet right in front of her. If she could throw her arrow just right, maybe she could pierce the both of them through, the next time they passed. 

Yeah, it was a dumb idea. The likelihood of the arrow hitting any thing but sand was slim, plus, it would take brute strength to throw that arrow and expect it to go thought two bodies, and she didn't have any regular strength, let alone brute strength. But a plan was a plan, and having a lame plan was better then no plan, right?

"Why did the chicken cross the road?" she asked no one in particular, re-positioning her grip on the arrow. As the norifs got closer she responded, "To get to the other side of course," and with a tired chuckle she mustered her remaining strength and threw the arrow…

The first norif evaded the arrow with feline poise, while the other one easily batted it away, making it difficult for Kagome not to cry. Her lame, but original, plan had failed miserably, her semi-witty death comment seemed pathetic now, her quiver of arrows had been knocked out of reach, and Inu Yasha wasn't there to save her. She was going to die. 

With identical, lion-like roars, they lunged for her on either side, and all she could do was scrunch her eyes closed and scream, 

"Inu Yasha!"

And then it rushed into her again. Pure, raw energy that raced throughout her body, struggling for release. Not in the animalistic sense, though. It was more like bottled up euphoria, an unopened two-liter bottle of sprite after its been shaken. Unable and unwilling to contain it any longer, she released in a silent explosion of white light, this time with an almost pale pink hue. 

When she opened her eyes again she was alone. Not even the bodies of the norifs and neaks she killed were left. Laughing in relief, she furtively looked around before performing a small victory dance consisting of much booty-shaking and hip swaying. 

Victory dance out of her system, she proceeded to calmly collect her scattered arrows and quiver while debating whether to return and help Inu Yasha or not. She could still vaguely hear the sound of ripping flesh, signifying that Inu Yasha was still alive and probably didn't need her help. In her current batter state, she would be more of a hindrance then a help. But, then again, if she could barely walk after _six_ youkai, how would Inu Yasha fare facing _dozens_ of them? Kagome frowned; okay, that settled it. She was going back to help him. 

Determination now in her step, she began trudging back towards him, aware that the sun was hanging lower in the sky. She shielded her eyes and squinted over in Inu Yasha's direction again, making out a red figure moving swiftly among the dark blue and brown figures surrounding it. Wow! She hadn't realized she'd run so far away from him. 

A cloud suddenly drifted over the sun, much to Kagome's relief. It was starting to get pretty hot…wait. Clouds? She hadn't seen a cloud for miles the last time she looked up at the sun, which was a couple of minutes ago. Looking up again she saw, not a cloud, but what appeared to be a feather…a feather from a _really_ big bird. 

Standing regally a top it was a fancily clad woman, accompanied by a crouched figure in a pure white cloak. They both appeared to be intently watching the battle. 

As Kagome's eyes rested on the cloaked figure something sinister seemed to whip up her spine, causing her to gasp aloud. She didn't like this…

At the sound of her gasp, the woman slightly inclined her head towards Kagome while a deep, slick, amused voice chortled, "Well, well. What have we here?"

She shivered. No, she didn't like this at all. 


	11. Big Swords

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 10: I like big…swords

"Inu Yasha!"

The shout had cut through the din of neaks and norifs pressing against the dog-eared hanyou, causing his ears to flatten and his stomach to lurch. It was followed by a flash of white light and then, like the last time he saw that light, nothing. Disconcerted, he sniffed the air before angrily ripping the closest creature he could find in two. He smelt singed skin.   
"Dammit! Get the hell outta my way!" He shouted in frustration. "Senkon Tessou!" But his attack did little good and, minutes later, he still found himself surrounded by neaks and norifs pressing against him, spitting poison, biting. He growled and clawed at a norif's face; he hated this. Not only was he suddenly feeling claustrophobic, but for all he knew, Kagome could be dead, reduced to nothing but a charred pile of skin…

The sickening mental image flickered constantly in his mind, and he was suddenly overwhelmed by the need to run off and find Kagome, make sure she was okay. But how? If he just ran, the small army would give chase and that would put Kagome in danger. He decapitated a neak in frustration. How could he possibly get away from the pack of youkai to check on Kagome? 

The answer to his question came in the form of a curvy figure standing confidently on top of a sand dune to his right. 

"I leave you for one minute and look at the mess you made," Sango's smoky voice teased. 

"Fuck you." Inu Yasha growled, too preoccupied with a particularly aggressive pair of neaks to think up of a proper comeback. 

Ignroing him, Sango gave a shout and dove right into the middle of the youkai horde, skewering several neaks and norifs onto Hiraikotsu, the two swords she took everywhere, in the process. 

Landing gracefully on her feet, she kicked three neaks out of her way before shouting over to Inu Yasha, 

"Where's Kagome?"

"I don't know!" He slashed at norif. 

"You" _stab_ "don't" _stab_ "know?"_ kick!_

_Pant. Punch._ "Didn't I just say that? Argh," he elbowed a norif and continued, "Listen, I need to—" 

"I know," Sango interrupted, swinging her swords across each other and cutting off a norif's head, "I'll take care of this lot while you go and find Kagome." She waved a sword at him for emphasis "Go!"

Inu Yasha didn't need to be told twice. Smirking, he brought his fist back and punched a path through the neaks and norifs before impatiently leaping over them with an energy he hadn't possessed earlier. Racing up the sand dune, and leaving a cloud of sand in his wake, he braced himself for whatever state Kagome may be in, _'Please be okay.'_

With one final leap he made it up and over the sand dune, momentarily silhouetted against the setting sun like some overly dramatic depiction of the archetypal hero. When he landed, and the sand he raised had settled, he menacingly cracked his knuckles…and blinked in confusion. 

He could smell Kagome nearby, but she was nowhere in sight. Instead, there was some snobby looking bitch hovering about a foot above the ground on a feather plucked from a demonically big chicken. She gave him an appraising look and sneered, 

"So, you're the Inu brat with the katana."

Inu Yasha scowled, "Kami, what's up with people and my damn katana? Whatever, I don't have time for this," he glared accusingly at the woman. 

"Oh really? Lose something did you?" she asked, an unmistakably mocking tone in her voice. Absently she began tapping the end of an unopened fan against her palm. 

"Whatsit to you bitch?"

"Hmph. Quite a temper there. I was just going to say that, whatever you lost, it's quite precious to you…isn't she?" she added, a cold smile gracing her lips. 

"Feh. Save the bad jokes," he cracked his knuckles, "Who the hell are you and what have you done with Kagome?"

"I'm Kagura, and I haven't done any thing to the girl, yet. You just give me that katana of yours and no one will get hurt. We wouldn't want to anger Naraka, now would we?" she flipped the fan open with a snap that had Inu Yasha's ears flattening in irritation.   
"Great," he muttered, "First, Naraku sends an oni with a hair fetish, now he sends with one with a fan fetish? I think the bastard has a freak fetish or something," he launched himself at her, claws poised to strike. 

"Fool," she hissed, "You dare compare me to that lowly oni? Unlike you, half-breed, I'm a full youkai and," she smiled, stepping off her feather, Inu Yasha's claws missing her by inches, "a wind user." Her fan suddenly tripled in size and a sickeningly delighted smile lit her face at the suddenly apprehensive look in Inu Yasha's eyes. 

"What the—" he never got to finish his question. Kagura brought her fan downwards, sending a gust of wind towards Inu Yasha. Puzzled, but suspicious, he at first tried to struggle against the strong wind. All too soon, he discovered that Kagura not only sent a gust at him, but invisible blades as well. He could hear, and occasionally feel as they flew pass him, one or two actually fulfilling their purpose and slicing at his cheek or knuckles. 

Before she could bring her fan downwards again, thus attacking Inu Yasha once more, he jumped upwards over Kagura's head. Smirking he shouted just as he landed, 

"Claws of Blood!"

With a single sweep of her fan, Kagura easily knocked Inu Yasha's attack away. She smiled her cruel, triumphant smile again at his deflated expression and string of curses. _'Such a simple creature,'_ she thought to herself, and then a loud, 

"That sword is as good as mine."

"Don't be so conceited! Senkon Tessou!"

Sighing as if being forced to perform a tiresome task, Kagura brought her fan downwards to, once again, easily knock the silly hanyou's attack out of the way. Only, this time, something went terribly wrong. Somehow, a part of Inu Yasha's attack managed to survive the blast of wind she had sent it. It then proceeded to punch a hole right through her fan (rendering it useless) and practically shred her shoulder out of existence. To put the maraschino cherry on top of this lovely, bloody, painful ice cream Inu Yasha had so kindly dealt her, Kagura suddenly found the dull edge of the blade she was ordered to retrieve, not in her hands, but pressed against her throat. Yeah, talk about irony.  

"You know, I thought the rusty sword my father left me was useless, but guess what?" He applied more pressure against the blade, drawing blood, "I just found a great use for it."

"Hmph, you're bluffing. If you really wanted to kill me you would've done it already." She jutted her chin out defiantly, her pale face contradicting her disdainful words. 

"Well I can't really ask a corpse where Kagome is and what that bastard, Naraku is up to, can I?" he snorted. 

"No, you can't. So how about you just ask me yourself." A greasy, patronizing voice joined the, obviously friendly, conversation. The voice came from behind the two and generated identical reactions, yet absolutely different emotions from the pair. Both stiffened, but when Kagura stiffened in fear, Inu Yasha stiffened in recognition and loathing. He whirled around to face him.   
"Naraku," he quietly stated. 

"Kagura," said Naraku, making it the second time that day that Inu Yasha was ignored, "it appears that you have already failed." Lowering his head in mock disappointment, he fixed his cold eyes upon her own panicked ones. A shuddering, pained cry escaped her lips before she slumped limply against Inu Yasha. He tossed her to the ground. 

"Why the fuck are you here, you son of a bitch."

"Heh. Funny meeting you here, Inu Yasha," he murmured politely, as if just noticing the hanyou. His mouth curled into what can only be assumed he thought a smile looked like. "I see you have yet to expand your vocabulary." Adjusting his cloak, he chuckled over some private joke while looking down at Inu Yasha. Looking down because he too hovered above the ground but, unlike Kagura, he received no aide from a feather. 

A low growl rumbled from Inu Yasha's chest, "Who gives a flying shit about my vocabulary? Gimme one good reason why you're here before I tear you to pieces."

"My, my. Still violent as ever, I see," Naraku sidhed. "Unfortunately you're in no position to make such demands."

"Like hell I'm not."

"But truly, you're not. I found something that I think is quite precious to you. Actually, she's precious to quite a number of people, heh, heh…" Naraku laughed, sweeping aside his white robes to reveal Kagome crouching at his feet, wrists and ankles bound together. There a shiny burn running from her elbow to her index finger, which explained the burnt skin Inu Yasha had smelt, but she didn't seem to notice; she was too busy pouting angrily at Naraku, who had taken a leaf out of Inu Yasha's book and held a dagger to her throat.

"Kagome!" Inu Yasha ran towards her. He had every intention of ripping her from the bastard's grasp before the dagger did any damage. 

"Inu Yasha, no!" The tip of the dagger pressed painfully against her  throat as she tried to warn him, "There's a barrier—" 

"Wha?" He smashed painfully against and was thrown back by an invisible barrier about the pair. Lightening raced across its surface, lending the barrier a moment of visibility. 

"Ow, shit! Oy bitch, how come you didn't tell me about the barrier earlier?" he whined loudly. 

"Uh, maybe because you were too busy running _in_to it!" she replied, scowling. 

"Well, why didn't you tell me BEFORE that?!"

"Oh, well I'm sorry. I was too busy trying to spit out the gag Cammando Creepy stuffed into my mouth, you jerk!" she added, her syrupy, sarcastic voice turning dead pissed. 

"Bitch."

"I'll say the s-word."

"I _dare_ you to."

"Don't tempt me."

"Lover's spat?" Naraku cut in. 

"NO!" they shouted at him in unison.   
Inu Yasha snorted, "Enough of this. We're wasting time."

"Oh, I couldn't agree more." Naraku nodded, resting a hand on Kagome's shoulder; she jerked away. Locking eyes with Inu Yasha he began lightly caressing Kagome's cheek with the tip of his dagger, 

"It must hurt," he whispered, an eerie, disturbing glow in his eyes. 

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"When you first saw her, it must have her a lot," he continued in that same, hushed whisper. "They look so much a like. The questioning, reproachful look she's giving me right now, for example. Exactly like hers. But she would never give _you_ that look, would she? Not that sad, reproachful gaze," he shook his head slowly at the stiff Inu Yasha, who was obviously shaken by his words. 

"It hurts doesn't it? Knowing what you will do, what you are doing? Only a little now, but oh, it will hurt so much in the end. How does it feel knowing that the last of the Innocence, the only pure thing left in this god forsaken hell-hole will be br—" 

"ENOUGH!" Inu Yasha bellowed suddenly, breaking eye-contact with the now psychotically grinning Naraku. "Enough." 

"What was that?" Naraku asked, no longer whispering, "Getting a sense of déjà vu, are we?" he chuckled, though Kagome found nothing particularly amusing about their situation. It was just plain creepy to be honest, and "Commando Creepy" was making it even creepier by beckoning to her with one hand. 

Opening her mouth to ask a sarcastic, spite-filled question, she closed it again with a loud snap. Her hand felt…tingly; almost numb, except not the heavy numb one usually feels, but a floating numb, like her hand had been softly tickled while vaporizing out of existence. To her dismay, her numbed hand was floating upwards to rest in Naraku's own white, outstretched one. His pale, blue lips twisted into a desperate attempt at a charming smile as he bent down and softly kissed the center of Kagome's palm, causing her to recoil in disgust. 

"You know," Naraku mused once had had pulled away, "Fortune telling is a very popular pass time among mortal these days. Palm reading is especially popular, isn't it? Now, someone as busy as I am doesn't have time for such pleasantries, but if I'm not mistake, I do believe that palm-reader associate this line here with the heart." 

Kagome watched as Naraku dragged the dagger along some random line upon her palm, the tip sliding easily into her flesh. With morbid fascination, she watched as beads of blood rolled down and off her trembling hand, contributing to the atmosphere as intense and tangible as the invisible barrier surrounding her. 

"And this lone over here," Naraku tapped the dagger against another random line on her, now bloody, palm, "is supposed to determine how long one lives. However, I find that the line determining life or death is not so clearly marked, but lies in this general area," Naraku lightly skimmed the dagger back and forth over her chest, finally stopping right over her heart. For a moment, Kagome merely looked at the dagger in disbelief. Then, she slowly lifted her wide eyes up to Naraku's and the gravity of her situation hit her like the revolutionary apple hit Newton. 

Naraku was insane. Her fate lay in the twisted, if not pasty, hands of a madman, and, if he chose to kill her, it would be a very slow, painful death. She tried not to shiver. Her one consolation was that Inu Yasha would never let something that horrible happen to her. 

"Now here's a dilemma! I'm sure you don't want any more of the girl's lovely blood shed, Inu Yasha, so why don't you be good and give me that katana of yours."

Inu Yasha grit his teeth and bit back a growl. Hostility was only going to complicate the situation, and the situation was already hard to cope with as it was. Of course, he knew what he should do, what he should've already done. The girl was definitely worth a lot more then the rusty katana his father left him. Still, it was quite clear that Naraku would go to great lengths to obtain the seemingly useless sword, a fact that aroused much suspicion. Knowing Naraku, the katana would eventually be incorporated into some devious plot against him. But if he kept the katana, it would basically be sentencing Kagome to death, which was definitely wasn't an option. 

Still weighing out his options, he allowed his gaze to wander over to the schoolgirl. She didn't look too good. In fact, her abnormally pale face made her appear almost nauseas. He blinked. Was she…scared? He blinked again. Never in their time together had her face displayed downright fear. Pain? Yes. Anguish? Yes. Anger? Hell yeah. But she'd never been afraid. 

She turned her head a little to meet his gaze. For the third time he blinked. Her eyes, they were gray. A light, clear, almost pale blue gray; how could he have failed to notice such startling eyes?

And it was then that he looked—actually looked—at Kagome. It was Kagome being forced to kneel by Naraku's side, Kagome looking to him wide-eyed expectation,  not the little schoolgirl, not the bitch, not the Kikyo-look-alike; just Kagome. 

_'Confusing,'_ he reflected, '_but,'_ he slowly drew the katana out of its scabbard, '_I'm perfectly fine with that.'_

Meanwhile, Naraku was growing impatient. Flicking the dagger upwards, he casually made a small scratch on Kagome's collarbone, 

"Have you made your decision yet, Inu Yasha?"

"Yeah."

Both Naraku and Kagome held their breaths in expectation. 

"…Well?" Naraku finally snapped. 

Inu Yasha gave a small, bitter laugh, "I've decided, you can go to hell!" he shouted, running towards them, katana drawn. The barrier crackled to life as he determinedly pushed the rusty katana into it, but despite his valiant efforts, he was thrown backwards into the sand. Pushing himself to his feet, he stubbornly tried again, only to receive the same result. 

With Naraku's patronizingly amused laughter pounding in his ears, he probably would've tried again if Kagome hadn't stopped him. 

"Inu Yasha, sit!" she shouted, putting a stop to his almost masochistic action. He dutifully fell flat on his face. 

"What the hell?" He sputtered, partly in confusion, partly because he had sand in his mouth. "I'm trying to save you here, you bitch!"

"Well don't!" She cried, trying to appear angry, "Just keep the katana, I don't like how you're practically killing yourself for me." Her bottom lip began to tremble dangerously and Inu Yasha could smell something salty…

"Er..well..I don't want your death on my conscious," he countered, rolling his eyes. She gaped at him, 

"A-and what's _that_ supposed to mean?! Are you saying that—"

"Shut it!" he growled, "I'm telling you I'll protect you."

Without waiting for an answer, her fell into a battle stance and tightened his already vice-like grip on the batter hilt of the katana. The last words he said were playing over and over in his head, he could feel a foreign emotion suddenly surge through him as he focused on that dagger pressed dangerously close to her bosom, and he could hear something pounding in time with his heart, throbbing, pulsating…

It was a windless day, but somehow his unruly bangs managed to fall into his face, shadowing everything but the small dangerous smirk playing on his lips. Giving no warning, he silently leapt towards them again, katana raised overhead. This time, when he swung downwards and the edge of his weapon met with the barrier, it was no longer in the shape of a rusty katana, but a gigantic sword that sliced through the barrier like a hot knife through butter. 

Naraku's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing angrily into two slits. Hissing curses, there was a bang and he was enveloped in a cloud of smoke where he and the unconscious Kagura escaped Inu Yasha's wrath. 

************

"You okay?" 

Kagome looked up into Inu Yasha's face and smiled. Not because she was okay, she actually felt like shit, but because of the poorly concealed concern in Inu Yasha's eyes, 

"Yeah, I think I'll make it. How about you?" She asked, allowing him to help her to her feet. 

"Meh, just got a scratch." He looked down at her out of the corner of his eyes, displaying a slightly toned-down version of his trademark smirk.  

"Er, h-how did you do, erm, that?" She stuttered, confused as to why her cheeks were suddenly feeling warm. 

"Do what?" he raised an eyebrow. 

"That." She pointed to the rusty katana now snug in the scabbard at his side. 

He shrugged, "Dunno. It just…happened."

"What—"

"There you are!" Sango's voice called, sparing Inu Yasha from further questioning. He didn't really want Kagome to know that she was the cause of his katana's transformation, that seeing her in danger actually mattered to him. Her little "sit-thing" was bad enough, but if she knew that she influenced him emotionally…he silently thanked the bendela rushing towards them. 

"Where have you been? I just finished off the last of those neaks and I saw smoke coming from this direction and—what happened here?" she asked, just noticing Kagome's burnt and bloody state. She glanced suspiciously at Inu Yasha, 

"He didn't, you know…"

"What? Oh, no, no!" Kagome said, nervously looking over at an indignant Inu Yasha. "He would never do that. I'll tell you about it later." She added quietly, forgetting about Inu Yasha's canine hearing. Sango nodded, then smirked, 

"Judging by that little army back there, you guys tried to make some new friends, didn't you?"

"Nah, it's animal magnetism. They're drawn to us." Kagome replied dryly, gingerly picking at the wound on her hand. "Where were you the whole time any way?"

"Well, other then fighting that youkai army back there, I was looking for the cat. He's a lot more useful then I thought."

"Damn, I guess no cat stew tonight, eh?" Inu Yasha joined in, earning him glares from both females. "What?" he snapped. 

Choosing to ignore him, Sango continued, 

"I found the thing sitting on top of something that might make our trip across this stupid desert a lot faster."

"Where is it?"

"Well, if you follow me I'll show you. Or," She gave them an amused smile, "Or you can walk three days needlessly on foot."

"Do we have a choice?" Inu Yasha sighed/whined. 

"Nope," Kagome winced as she bound the wound on her palm with some fabric she reluctantly ripped from her already short skirt. She smiled at Inu Yasha before hurrying next to Sango where she chatted with her about cats, sand dunes and the desert's hellish heat. Finally, after leading them over a series of large sand dunes, Sango exclaimed, 

"Here it is! Hey…where'd the cat go? Ah well," Beaming, she walked over to it and stroked the surface,

 "Isn't this wonderful? We should be out of this desert within hours!"

The pair just stared at it until Inu Yasha voiced the one question on both of their minds, 

"What the hell is it?"

A/N: Aloha all. I'm sorry if there were a lot of typos there, I'm kind of being rushed. I'm also sorry for the rather crappy, abrupt ending. I just finished reading the fifth Harry Potter book, so if my style kind of changed don't be too alarmed. Whenever I read something I like, my writing style gets a little warped; it should be back to normal by now though…ah well.  So, yeah, until next time: toot a loo. 


	12. The Gigantic Almond Thingy

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 11: The Gigantic Almond Thingy

"What the hell is it?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Sango asked looking incredulously at Inu Yasha. He returned the look with a sour one of his own while Kagome tilted her head to the side and gazed thoughtfully at the object in question, 

"It look like a metal almond," she announced, a minute later, with a decided nod. 

"Close," Sango laughed, "It's actually a penuvoi."

"Oh, well that makes it so much more clearer," Inu Yasha snorted, rolling his eyes and receiving yet another glare from Sango. 

"Well that's gratitude for you," she huffed. 

Kagome, oblivious to the antics of her two companions, continued her inspection of the penuvoi by crossing her eyes and tilting her head in the other direction, 

"It's a very big metal almond…but almond shaped never the less."

"What? Should I be grateful you brought us to a friggen gigantic metal raindrop?!"

"Inu Yasha be nice…and it's a metal almond."

"Yeah, it kind of does look like one, doesn't it!" Sango exclaimed, mimicking Kagome and tilting her head to the side as well. 

"Focus! Focus!" said Inu Yasha exasperatedly, ears twitching madly. 

"On what?" Kagome turned to him curiously. 

"That! The-the tear drop thing!"

"Almond."

"Whatever."

"So…what about it?"

"What about what?" Inu Yasha slanted her a blank look. 

"The penuvoi," Sango answered, making an annoyed sound at the back of her throat. 

"The Penu-what?"

"The almond thing, Kagome."

"Oh."

"So, how the hell does it work?"

"We're still talking about the almond thing, right?"

"Yeah, it's actually called a penuvoi, though."

"Well I think it looks more like an almond than a penuvoi, whatever that is."

"But that _is_ a penuvoi, Kagome!"

"Sorry Sango, it just doesn't look very penuvoi-ish to me."

"Focus! Focus!"

"On what?"

"Okay, stop!" Sango ordered, holding her hand up and putting such an abrupt halt to the conversation that Inu Yasha's mouth still hung open to angrily reply, while Kagome's eyes still danced mischievously in her otherwise innocently curious face. "We're going around in circles. How about I show you how the penuvoi—yes the almond thing—works. At the rate we're going, just telling you about it will take all night," she muttered, gazing up at the new dark sky. 

"Sounds good," Kagome piped up, breaking the moment of silence that had followed Sango's suggestion. Inu Yasha just shrugged and tried his best to look indifferent. 

"Feh, whatever. Just hurry up, we're already behind schedule."

"Since when did we have a schedule?"

"Uh…well…"

"Well?

"Feh!"

"Feh? Do you aleays use that word when there's nothing else you can say?"

And so Kagome and Inu Yasha's mindless banter continued in this fashion while Sango walked around the "gigantic metal almond thingy." 

It lay partially buried in the sand and, if stood on end, would probably be three times Sango's height. As it was, though, the penuvoi lay properly on its belly, making it easier for Sango to enter it. Of course, Inu Yasha and Kagome were ignorant to this and, even if they weren't, they were too busy bickering to care. So busy were they bickering, that it took them a whole two minutes to notice the bendela's sudden absence. 

"Apples are _so_ much better then—hey! Where'd she go?" Kagome stopped their thought-provoking debate and looked around in confusion. 

"Who?" Inu Yasha asked, with a twitch of his right ear. 

"Sango, of course." Kagome told him, taking to retracing Sango's path around the penuvoi.

Gasping, she felt something dart out and grab; she had only enough time to see a sun-browned hand grasping her own small wrist before she was jerked through the penuvoi into a small room and was magically face to face with a grinning Sango. She held a finger to her lips and motioned for Kagome to listen. 

"Don't get all worked up wench. Sango's around here somewhere, I can still smell her…wench? Kagome? Don't tell me you're hiding too!" Inu Yasha's irritated voice growled, penetrating through the penuvoi's walls. Kagome pressed her hands over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

After Inu Yasha's angry out burst had resided, there was only the muffled padding of feet against sand punctuated by loud sniffs. Eventually his footsteps stopped right next to the penuvoi, at the very spot Sango had dragged Kagome through earlier. His confusion was marked by a loud, 

"What the hell?"

Then he was stepping in front of Sango and Kagome, who was laughing now that Inu Yasha had found them.   
"Hmph. Too easy." He smirked, generating eye rolls and snickers of disbelief from both girls. Wrinkling his nose he looked around and continued, 

"Where in all the hells are we?"

"Where do you think?" 

"Uh…in the penuvoi?"

"Good dog," Kagome smiled, affectionately patting his head. Turning red he sulked, 

"Don't treat me like your fucking dog."

Kagome just kept on smiling, "So Sango, how does this penuvoi thingy work? And where'd you learn about it, any way? They never taught us this stuff at school."

"Oh, a penuvoi is part of the prophecy so we were all taught to use it." She gave a queer laugh before walking over to a metal alter in the center of the room. It came up to her waist and its bright blue aura was the only source of light in the small almond (or tear shaped) room. 

"That over there," she pointed to a section of the wall that not a metallic gray like everything else, but a sandy beige, "is actually a window. You just can't tell because it's covered in sand. To work a penuvoi, you need to face the window then put your hands here." She placed her hands flat on the alter which was not solid, as Kagome had thought, but a sort of gel that conformed to the shape of Sango's hand. When her hands were fully submerged in the gel, an orange glow that began at her wrists and ran through the rest of her began to emanate from her body. 

Looking out the window, Kagome could see rivers of sand begin to slide down and off the window as the huge machine slowly rose above the ground for a second, then it gave a stomach flying lurch and landed heavily back on top of the sand. Turning away from the window, Kagome first noticed Sango's trembling hands, her lack of breath, then her smugly smiling face. 

"That's basically how the penuvoi works. You look out the window, think of your destination and the penuvoi does the rest. It takes your magical energy and uses it as fuel, then returns it to you, like a cycle." She explained, still panting slightly. Kagome stared at the alter in awe and even Inu Yasha looked faintly impressed, faintly being the operative word. 

"So, you're telling me that if you put your hands on that metal table thing, you can get us across this damn desert in an hour?"

"Three house, and well, no, not exactly," Sango admitted, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly. 

"How so?"

"Well, when you use your magical energy for fuel, it slowly gets contaminated. It takes a while, but your energy will get so polluted that they penuvoi can't use it any more, which means we'll have to trade off every hour or so." 

"Knew it was too good to be true," Inu Yasha grumbled. 

Kagome held up a hand, "I have a question."

"Uh…we're not in a classroom, Kagome, you don't need to raise your hand, you know."

"Sorry, it's a habit. Plus, you're giving off very teacher-like vibes at the moment."

Flushing, Sango hurried on, "Didn't you say you have a question?"

"Questions," Kagome corrected, "First of all, none of us are wearing watches, how will we know an hour's passed?"

"The penuvoi won't work any more."

"No passing out?"

"No."

"Good. And you said we need to think about our destination, right?"

Sango nodded. 

"Okay, then here's my second question: Where is our destination?"

"Out of the desert, of course."

"Can you be a little more specidifc? I don't want to send us back to the school or any thing."

Inu Yasha gave Kagome an irritated glare before he snapped, 

"Udala, the Snowy Pine Inn."

Rolling her eyes, she gave a mock wave of dismissal, "Those were all my questions, that will be all." She then proceeded to arrang herself comfortably on the floor; she didn't want to stand for three hours straight. 

Seconds later, she was joined by Inu Yasha. He sat in a way that reminded Kagome of a dog sitting on its haunches, and the sullen pout on his face only added to the effect. 

"Are you guys done yet?" Sango demanded, the smile on her lips softening her harsh words. 

"No."

"Too bad," she cackled, shoving her hands swiftly into the felt, resulting in the machine suddenly careening several feet upwards. Inu Yasha swore loudly and scowled, but Kagome squealed and clapped her hands together in surprised delight. 

Unable to resist, she abandoned her comfy spot next to Inu Yasha to scramble to the window and press her face flat against it. 

"Wow," she breathe, watching the egg-sized sand dunes pass below them, "You should really see this Inu Yasha!" She beckoned him with one hand, not looking away from the spectacular view. Seeing everything from so high up, yet knowing she was safe inside the penuvoi fascinated her. It made her feel strangely detached, as if she was a fourth person watching everything from the shadows…

"Erk, we're kind of high up, aren't we?" Inu Yasha's warm breath tickled her neck.

"Scared?" she teased. 

"No," he protested, "just…adjusting."

"It's okay to be scared," she consoled him, barely managing to keep the teasing note out of her voice.

"I'm not scared."

Kagome smothered a smile. He was starting to sound like the younger students she tutored back at the school. 

She winced and waited for the sharp pain she usually felt in her chest whenever she thought back to her home. It never came. Just a kind of alphabet soup warmth that filled her stomach and made her want to smile. _'I want to go back home,'_ she thought, willing the sensation to come. Nothing. '_Maybe, I don't want to go back…'_ She pushed the ridiculous thought aside and, instead, looked up at Inu Yasha. 

"If you're not scared, what are you?"

"…Uneasy." He glanced down at her, smirked, then went back to his spot on the floor. 

Kagome licked her lips and looked around; Inu Yasha's choice of words had gotten her nervous. Her eyes darted over to the orange glowing Sango, the window and finally rested on Inu Yasha.

"Yeah," she murmured, feeling the small hairs on the back of her neck raise, "I feel uneasy too."

Their eyes met and she felt oddly comforted by those eyes. As if for that one infinitesimal second, she was perfectly safe. Then he sniffed and turned away, thus breaking the trance-like state they had both fallen into.

Kagome shook her head and smiled brightly. Poor guy. He was stuck in a small room with a Kagome who had nothing to do. Poor guy. 

A/N: Kagome's not the only one feeling uneasy, I'm rather feeling uneasy myself. Last night I thought I heard whispering, but there was no one there, and now I'm home alone…great, I'm going mad. Ah well, I hear insane people write very moving stories. Hoped you enjoyed it, tootles all!


	13. Don't Let Me Go Back

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 12: Don't Let me Go Back

It was a rhythm, a steady slapping sound that bounced brashly off the metallic walls of the penuvoi; the sound of flesh against flesh. For a while it was the only sound, besides the low humming of the penuvoi itself, that filled the room, but then a silvery laugh rung out, its innocent quality strangely intensified by the giggling snort at the end. 

"I would never have thought," Kagome chortled, "that it would take the great Inu Yasha so long to learn how to play a clapping game." She laughed even harder at the utter look of concentration on his face. 

The pair sat knee to knee with each other right under the only window in the room, and had been clapping, or attempting to in Inu Yasha's case, for the pass fifteen minutes. Earlier, Kagome had tried to engage Inu Yasha in a deep, personality revealing conversation about shoe tongues, but all he seemed to want to do was sleep. After a minute of staring intensely at his back, her boredom was still not satiated; she then decided to use her wonderful powers of persuasion (with a little help of the s-word) and convinced him to play a little game with her. 

"Shut it," Inu Yasha scowled, slapping Kagome's hands a little harder then he should've. She winced as pain lanced through the cut on her palm but gave no other indication that he had hurt her, and it wasn't like Inu Yasha was paying attention any way. 

"And why the hell would I bother to learn a stupid game like  this," he ranted on, "It's not like human children ever played with me when I was younger."

Kagome's eyes widened, "Do you mean that—"

"Is this all we do in a clapping game," Inu Yasha cut in, "clap?"

She sighed at his oh-so-subtle attempt at changing the subject, mentally deciding to ask him about it later. 

"Of course not," she giggled, "Now that you got the clapping down, we can sing."

Inu Yasha stiffened and almost stopped clapping, "Singing? You never said any thing about singing!" The alarm was comically evident in his voice. 

She stared curiously at him for a second, then broke out in to an evil smile, "Inu Yasha," she teased, "You don't know how to sing, do you?"

"What? I never—"

"Dooo you?" she asked gleefully. 

"I-er-well. Feh! This is stupid." His scowl deepened, and he stopped clapping to cross his arms over his chest. 

"Oh, don't be like that," she coaxed in her most endearing voice, "Here, I'll just sing and all you'll have to do is move your hands. Please? I'm so bored." Her hands were poised as if to start clapping again and she looked up wide-eyed at him, her lower lip protruding slightly like a puppies. _'C'mon, no one can resist the puppy-look,' _she mentally chanted. He shifted and uncomfortably and let out an annoyed growl, _'Yes! I win!'_

"Hmph, whatever," he grudgingly agreed, clapping his hands together and then meeting Kagome's right hand with is left and her left with his right like she had instructed him to do. _'Stupid wench, forcing me to play her dumb clapping game. I'm just doing it so she'll shut  up, yeah that's it. …this is actually not that bad…'_ The corner of his lips lifted slightly in a small smirk. 

Kagome was sifting through childhood memories of playing clapping games outside in the courtyard, or late at night under the covers, trying to remember the song she had sung, when Inu Yasha's amused smirk grabbed her attention. 

"What's so funny?"

"Eh? Oh," his look of surprise quickly turned into one of annoyance, "Nothing. Just sing already."

"What?"

"You heard me, wench. Sing." 

"Do you want me to roll over while I'm at it," she muttered, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"Well if you really want to…"

"No, that's okay." 

"You sure?"

She ignored him and cleared her throat dramatically, 

"Mail man, mail man

do your duty

here comes the lady with the

fat, fat, buty.

She can do the pom pom,

She can do the twist,

But what she likes most is to

Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Kagome sang, unaffected by the horrendous/rather rude content of the lyrics. Inu Yasha couldn't hold back a smirk; he never expected to hear Kagome sing the phrase "fat, fat, buty" with such…his smirk widened…feeling. Of course, he didn't expect to be the one blushing madly when she loudly chanted the word 'kiss.' Fortunately he was saved from any further embarrassing thoughts by the aforementioned schoolgirl, who enthusiastically began another pointless song, 

"Ms. Susie had a steamboat,

the steamboat had a bell,

the steamboat went to heaven,

Ms. Susie went to…

_Hell_o operator, 

Please give me number nine,

And if you disconnect me,

I'll kick you from behind…

The 'fridgerator

There lay a piece of glass

Ms. Susie sat upon it

And broke her little

_As_k me no more questions

Tell me no more lies—ow!" Kagome winced, the cut beginning to ache again. 

"What's wrong?" Inu Yasha slowly stopped clapping and looked at her in…concern? 

She shook her head, "Oh, it's nothing. My palm just hurts a little," she answered breezily, "Let's start clapping again." Clapping her hands together, she immediately regretted it when she felt another twinge of pain. 

Grimacing, Kagome automatically drew her hand back to cradle against her chest, but before she could do so, Inu Yasha's clawed hand shot out and encircled her wrist. 

_'What the?'_ Her breath caught in her throat and an electric jolt crackled through her at the feeling of his cool, calloused hand. Frowning, partially in annoyance, mainly in confusion, she snapped her gaze upwards to meet his…and promptly experienced another starting jolt. '_Oh my…'_

This wasn't like those other times when their eyes met and held for a few seconds. This was a steady gaze that held forever but not nearly long enough, spoke volumes but nothing at all…or it would have it any of that made sense, which it didn't. Kind of like how the whole situation made no sense. What was Inu Yasha doing? Only one way to find out. 

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, face aflame. He didn't reply, only drew her hand closer. 

"You're bleeding," he state after a moment of inspection. 

"Hm? Oh," she tore her eyes away from his face long enough to notice that the cloth she had tied around her palm was now wet with blood. "I guess all that clapping must've re-opened the cut." 

An awkward silence followed her comment, and Kagome was starting to slowly draw her hand away when Inu Yasha sighed and began to unbind her makeshift bandage. Silently, he replaced the soiled rag with a fresh piece of cloth ripped from the inner layer of his haori. As he gently wrapped the cloth about her palm, eyes focused on her hands, she allowed her gaze to wander about his face, finally resting on his lips. He had really nice lips. They weren't too big, but thin and uptight either; they were almost pouty. 

_'They'd be warm,'_ she thought dreamily…wait, what?! She mentally slapped herself…hard. _'Gah! Where'd _that_ come from?'_

Almost gagging with embarrassment, she looked shyly downwards, her black lashes emphasizing her creamy skin and rose-tinged cheeks. When she finally dared to look up, Inu Yasha had finished re-bandaging her hand and was looking at her with the utmost serious expression on his face. 

Their eyes met again and Kagome almost thought she saw his expression soften, but she thought otherwise when he smirked roguishly at her and carefully placed her hand on her lap. 

"Er," she looked down at her hand, "Thanks."

"No problem, I guess," he said, cheeks flushing in uncharacteristic embarrassment. In attempt to lighten the slightly intense mood, she grinned and gave his shoulder and awkward, supposedly playful slap, 

"Where'd you learn that?"

He gave her an odd look, "Uh, learn what?"

"This!" She waved her neatly bandaged hand in front of his face. 

"Oh that?" Inu Yasha asked with arrogant nonchalance, "I learned that ages ago. I've done it millions of times before." He crossed his arms and smirked, his pose filled to the brim with cockiness. 

Kagome raised her eyebrow and mimicked his pose, "Oh really?"

"Yeah," his expression suddenly darkened, "really."

Once again she was confused. What was up that little mood swing? _'Sure is a moody guy,'_ she grumbled to herself. 

"Really?" she repeated, fixing the hanyou with an inescapable look of concern while unconsciously scooting a little closer. 

"Er, really…" he answered, not quite catching, let alone understanding, her questioning tone. When she still didn't look away his ears began to twitch in irritation, 

"Look wench, I don't—oomph!" 

The penuvoi had lurched forward, sending Kagome flying face-first into Inu Yasha's chest, which, in turn, resulted in him being knocked onto his back. She internally groaned. Great, another embarrassing situation. To make matters worse, neither of them seemed willing to move and she knew the longer they stayed in their rather compromising position, the more embarrassing it would be when they did. She gave another mental sigh…she seemed to be going that a lot lately.

'_Ah well,_' a small voice inside of her comforted, then suggested wickedly, '_Might as well enjoy the situation while you can!'_

Kagome breathed in angrily, about to scold the mysterious voice, but had to resist the urge to sigh out loud instead. Wow. He smelled good. Not like the girly, flowery scents she usually found appealing, but smoky, like burning driftwood and something she couldn't quite describe in words. She breathed in again, savoring that faint, elusive scent and was more then surprised to hear Inu Yasha doing the same. So this is what he meant by a person's special smell. 

Deep girlish laughter boomed throughout the room, destroying the delicate, dazed, atmosphere.

"So, let me get this straight: you guys sniff each other in lieu of a kiss?" Sango snickered.

Kagome eeped and the red-faced pair flew apart, Inu Yasha to sulk in the corner and Kagome over to a laughing Sango's side. 

"Sango," Kagome smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear nervously, "How long were you watching there?"

"Oh, long enough to see you fall into his chest and get a good look at his panicked expression."

"Oh." Said Kagome quietly. Why did she suddenly feel disappointed?

"And to see him put his arms around you."

"He did what?" 

There was a snort from the corner of the room. 

"Er…I mean, I don't know what you're talking about Sango," Kagome sniffed, giving Sango a look that clearly said, 'Tell you later.' She nodded in understanding then pointed to the alter. 

"Your turn." 

"Oh yeah…So, do I just stick my hand in the gel stuff and think about the Snowy Pine Inn?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds easy."

"That's because it is," she smiled, before sauntering over to Inu Yasha, who ignored her presence. She shrugged and sat as far away from him as possible. 

Kagome giggled and cast one last fond look in the scowling hanyou's direction then pushed her hands into the gel. 

She closed her eyes and breathed in slowly, feeling the thick, cool, gel ooze slickly over her splayed fingers. Taking another deep breath, she focused on the window, _'The Snowy Pine Inn, we want to go to the Snowy Pine Inn.'_

Her determined gaze faltered; the last of her hand had become immersed by the gel and her eyelids were feeling so heavy, and were failing to stay up…she didn't even have time to gasp when she was abruptly dragged downwards. 

THUMP

"Ugh," Kagome groaned loudly, eyes still scrunched shut. Not quite ready to visually face her newest, probably dangerous situation, she decided to just lie there for a few more minutes in ignorant bliss. Yes, from what she could tell she was lying down, unless she was somehow floating in air, which was impossible since just became conscious of the sensation of grass brushing against her fingertips. 

Another groan escaped her throat. If she was lying in grass that definitely confirmed that she was not in the Yedlad desert with Inu Yasha and Sango any more. Then where was she? She gasped, a horrible thought presenting itself to her: What if Naraku had her? What if he and his pale, squishy hands were right next to her? 

Her eyes flew open in terror. No. There was no Naraku. As soon as her eyes opened and she saw the sky and the tall blades of grass waving lazily above her, she knew he couldn't possibly be near; the atmosphere was too tranquil. She highly doubted he could survive on such a warm, breezy day with the smell of sweet dry grass wafting about them. _'He'd probably end up melting,'_ she mused with a snort. 

"Hey bitch, what're you doing just lying there?"

Wait, she knew that voice…

Bolting upright she craned her neck upwards and grinned at the inu hanyou towering to her left. 

"Inu Yasha."

He gave her a strange look, "What's wrong with you Kikyo?"

"Kikyo? No, I'm not—" she chanced to look downwards and paused, something tightening in her chest. Her clothes, what was she wearing?

It looked like a wedding dress, white, smooth, airy; so much more modest then her uniform. It flowed regally about her shoulders, molding to the curve of her hips before flowing out again. It was something she would rather be caught dead in. Maybe she was turning into Kikyo? 

But no, she fingered her hair, her hair was still the same length, same style. What, for the love of Kami, was going on?

"Inu Yasha," she began softly, "I'm not Kikyo. I'm Kagome. Ka-go-me." 

"Kagome?" He looked at her confusedly, then seemed to remember something. "So, _you're_ Kagome."

"Huh?" She gulped. Was it her imagination, or was he wearing a very Naraku-like leer? Nervously, she bunched the silky material of her dress into her fist.

"Kikyo told me to watch out for you."

Her eye twitched. There! He looked like Naraku again!

To her horror, these "Naraku occurrences" became more and more frequent as his ranting became more and more insane. Eventually he stopped talking all together; he only leered at her, his face flickering back and forth between demented Inu Yasha and psycho Naraku, faster and faster until his face was just a blur of movement. 

Making a retching sound, she brought her hands upward to cover her eyes when she vaguely made out the outline of a face in the chaotic blur that was neither Naraku nor Inu Yasha. It struggled for a while, but finally emerged from the blur and became fully visible: a gaunt, tired woman's face. Strands of black hair fell in her face, and she was weeping. 

"Oh my baby," she sobbed, "my beautiful baby girl. I'm so sorry, so sorry. I'm sorry for the pain you will receive, I'm sorry for your sacrifice. I'm sorry for every tear you have and will shed, for every drop of blood you'll lose. God, I'm so sorry I'm not there when you need me most. Don't be afraid, I love you," her eyes suddenly widened in surprised and rested on Kagome before her face was sucked back into the maelstrom of faces from whence she came. 

"No, Mama!" She called, reaching out weakly with a strangled cry. Pushing herself off the ground, she launched herself at Inu Yasha, his normal face back in place. 

"Give her back," she choked, gripping the front of his haori tightly. 

He just laughed and knocked her back. She landed on her hands and knees, her hands fisted into the dirt. …Dirt? She looked around and was only a little surprised to see that they were no longer in a summery field. They were on a ledge several feet above an impossible river of lava that occasionally spat upwards, showering white hot sparks onto their unprotected heads. It was a situation she was sure many would die to be in…yeah, right. 

_'Well at least I'm back in my uniform,'_ she thought numbly, watching Inu Yasha circle her through her bangs. His face was remained his, but there was definitely something wrong with him…well, other then him actually harming her that was. Two purple stripes ran across each cheek, his fangs were frighteningly larger, and his eyes were an alarming shade of red. 

Without warning, he swooped down on her, grabbing her by the neck and holding her above his head. His claws bit into her neck, and she could feel warm liquid trickle down her neck and over the bruises she knew were forming. 

"You thought you could trick me you fuckin whore," he snarled, "Thought you could take it away. Thought that I'd fall in…fall in…" his face fell, and his grip momentarily loosened around her throat. It tightened again full force after a minute, "Well I didn't. Did you hear me, I didn't!"

He threw his head back and gave an inhuman shriek that forced out the tears Kagome had been trying to hold back. They slid down her cheek, merging with the trickle of blood rolling down her neck and Inu Yasha's arm. She sniffed. This wasn't Inu Yasha. He'd never hurt her like this, he was rude, but not cruel.

As she felt herself being thrown angrily towards the edge of the ledge, she couldn't help quietly whimpering, 

"Inu Yasha."

"…Kagome?!" 

The latter was too busy clawing for something to hold onto to fully acknowledge that Inu Yasha had called her name. When she did, she was barely holding onto the edge of the ledge, looking uneasily down at the bubbling river of lava moving sluggishly below her. 

"Inu Yasha!" She called again, this time in desperation. Just as her fingers lost their grip on the ledge, two clawed hands firmly grabbed her wrists. Looking up, her eyes locked with Inu Yasha's and she laughed and sobbed in relief. This was the Inu Yasha she knew. Those golden eyes looking worriedly down into her own could only belong to Inu Yasha. She wrapped her own fingers about his wrists. 

"Hang on to me, don't let me fall," she whispered, "Don't let me go back." After she said it, it occurred to her how irrelevant her last request was, why did she even say it in the first place? She never got to pursue the matter, though. A jolt of pain suddenly shot through her chest, causing her to cry out and let go of his wrists.

Through the haze of pain she managed to feel herself falling to a certainly fiery, painful death, but she didn't care. All there was was pain. It infected her body, numbing yet hurting at the same time. She opened her mouth, but her voice cowered at the back of her throat. She couldn't speak, couldn't form a coherent thought. Nothing compared to the pain she was experiencing; even the agony of her premonition paled in comparison. Inu Yasha's sorrowful, apologetic face flashed into view, the crying woman's and finally, Naraku's: the pain intensified. Her eyes were rolling about, shivers shot up and down her spine. She wanted to die. Life didn't matter, just as long as the hurt stopped. 

She opened her mouth and screamed. 

A/N: Well that certainly was a cheery ending. Don't worry, plenty of fluff and stuff in the next chapter for all of you sappy fans. I'm a bit of a sucker for that stuff myself. In fact, I'm thinking up my next fic. It's going to be based on the chic flic of chic flicks, _While You Were Sleeping_. The only problem I have is deciding on who will be playing the "Lucy" of the story. Inu Yasha would be more ideal because Kagome has the big family and he's alone, blah blah blah. But then if the male and female roles trade, then he'll have to re-propose to Kikyo and yeah. I'm ranting. Oh, and muchos thanky-ness to all of you guys who reviewed, as usual, when I get reviews I run around the house giggling like mad so, keep them coming! Bwok. I'll shut up now, but not before I tell you all that my nails look like grapes and Kashmir just started playing on the radio! I'm off to turn up the volume, so be love because you are, tootles. ^_^


	14. Term of Endearment

A/N: Okay, okay, okay. Yes, I know I promised you a fluff this time but the last chapter kind of threw me off. I was planning to end it a bit differently but my pencil wouldn't listen to my brain and decided to write something else. So now you guys are stuck with one of my shortest chapters yet and I'm uber sorry to the extreme. Another reason why this chapter is so short is because I'm experiencing a major case of writer's block on this fic and seriously debated whether I should continue writing this. Personally, those fic writers who stop their fic just because they're not getting reviews annoy the hell out of me, but I'm starting to see where they're coming from. Of course, I should be writing this story because I WANT to, because I enjoy it. That was the reason why I wrote this story in the first place but now it seems like I'm writing just for some reviews that'll give me an ego boost. Well, I don't know, I'm confusing myself, and boring you, so on with the story!!

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 13: Term of Endearment

"Ow! Fuck!"

"Get her legs, get her legs!"

"Oomph, ouch! Arg, the wench gots a good right hook."

"That's not helping! Erk, there! Arms are pinned."

"Gr, shit! Okay, legs are out of the way too."

"Uh…do you think that erm—for lack of a better phrase—straddling her is really necessary?"

"Hey! She has plenty of fight for just a bitch out of school!"

"My, don't we sound proud?"

"Shut up. Aren't you supposed to be waking her up, or something?"

"Oh yeah. Kagomeee, Kagome! Okay, wake up girl," Sango coaxed softly, unlike the small slaps she was delivering to the semi-conscious girl's face. 

"Yeah, c'mon, get up so you can tell us what's wrong," Inu Yasha's voice joined in, but at the risk of sounding too worried he added, "And no more hittin gme wench."

"Inu Yasha!"

"What?"

"She does have a name, you know. If she were up I don't think she'd appreciate being called wench."

"Feh. She doesn't mind, It's a—a—" he paused, and Kagome's eyes shot open just in time to witness his trademark smirk light up his features. "It's a term of endearment."

"AAH! Erg, ugh…who's endearing? What happened?" Kagome mumbled, bringing a hand up to her throbbing head. 

"We were hoping you tell us."

She looked blearily up at Sango, "Wha do you mean?"

"You were driving the penuvoi a lot longer then possible, and all of a sudden you started spasming. It was kind of creepy, yours eyes flew open and we couldn't understand what you were saying…well, actually," Sango stopped to cast a sly look in Inu Yasha's direction, "Well you did say a certain person's name a couple of times."

The hanyou flushed and turned away, "Whatever, just tell us what the hell happened to you wench."

Kagome suddenly found two pairs of eyes looking to her expectantly. Chewing on her bottom lip, she attempted to look everywhere but at her two companions; she didn't feel like telling them about the nightmare she had, doing so would only cause her to relive it over again. Not only that, but her nightmare seemed suspiciously like a premonition and telling her friends of it would only confirm it. 

Her eyes swept across the ceiling for the fifth time. Wait…ceiling? Looking around some more she made an interesting observation. 

"Hey, why am I lying on the floor?" She tried to sit up and blushed as she made yet another interesting discovery, 

"And why are you on top of me Inu Yasha?"

A slight, barely noticeable pink tinged his cheeks and he had the decency to look momentarily embarrassed. That out of character emotion soon passed and was replaced by a ponderous look. He studied her for a minute with an unnervingly thoughtful look in his eyes that slowly melted into an even more unnerving gleam of unholy mischief. With exaggerated slowness, he lowered his head until his lips were mere inches from her own, a lop-sided grin on his face.

A hectic flush darkened Kagome's cheeks (A/N: They seem to be doing a lot of blushing in this chapter…) as she stared up, wide-eyed and confused, into his eyes, "W-ell?"

"Well, it was the only way to stop you from flailing around and not get hurt at the same time."

"Y-you, you!"

"Yes?"

"Argh!" She pushed the smirking boy off her and stood up, brushing invisible specs of dirt off her skirt with as much dignity as she could muster. Inu yasha remained casusally sprawled on the floor, that same mischievous smirk on his face. 

"Stop smiling, you jerk."

His smirk widened. 

"Ugh, I can't believe you did that, you horrible jerk!" Her face was still quite red. 

"What did you want me to say," he stood up and held his hands up defensively, "It was the truth."

"Yeah right," she scoffed, not thinking of the actually meaning of her words.

"Oh, you've totally seen through me," he clutched his cheeks in mock dismay, "The truth is that I've been wanting to make passionate love to you since the day we met in the bedroom. Oh, take me now." He held out his arms to her, his actions much more dramatic then his sarcastic tone of voice. 

"Shut it, you know what I meant."

"Actually no, not really…"

"Sango," Kagome whined, "help me out here!"

"Hey don't drag me into this," the bendela said, her voice amused. She leaned, arms crossed, against the wall of the penuvoi, her dead pan expression portraying just how ridiculous she thought their argument was. 

"What's wrong wench can't defend yourself?" Inu Yasah taunted. 

"Not! That's not it, I-I-woah," Kagome's eyes suddenly became unfocused and she brought a hand partially up to her head, "I-I'd tell you," she tried again, "I'd tell you but the room is too busy spinning…" her voice trailed off as she began to slowly sway in place. 

Inu Yasha and Sango exchanged confused looks. 

"Kagome?"  Sango asked, concerned, "You okay?"

"Yeah, sure your not drunk, wench?"

"Oh yeah, I-I'm fine," she smiled reassuringly, just before collapsing backwards into Inu Yasha's arms. He scooped her up bridal style and looked down her face, his expression hidden by his bangs. 

"Huh, what's up with her?" he snorted, the underlying concern in his casual tone not undetected.

 "I don't know, but don't worry. The penuvoi crashed close to a town. I can see a building out the window." Sango placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

"It's the Snowy Pine Inn." He shook off her hand. 

Looking vaguely surprised, and somewhat indignant, she shrugged and continued briskly,

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" 

She stepped though the wall and out of the penuvoi. Inu Yasha was about to follow suit when he felt Kagome stir in his arms. 

"Mm, Inu Yasha, where are we going?" She asked, her voice soft and sleepy. 

"I'm taking you to—no," he looked down at her in what appeared to be surprise. Quickly recovering, he averted his gazed and stepped out of the penuvoi, 

"_We_ are going to the Snowy Pine Inn." 


	15. Things That go Thump in the Dark

A/N: Hidey ho all. Yay! New chapter! I wrote this up in just one day! Yay! Er…mainly because I was procrastinating from doing my summer hw, but that's besides the point. Yeah, I started writing from two in the afternoon all the way until six, and then I got started a little on the next chapter but yeah. You see, I've been waiting to write this chapter since the eighth grade, and it's the summer of my going into sophomore year so you can see I've waited a long time to write this. Unfortunately, this isn't the whole chapter. Once again I had to chop the chapter in half, so the semi-good stuff should be in the next chapter…this chapter really didn't turn out as I wanted it to, though…

 Any way, yeah. I've been helping Russian orphans. It's sad, because if they don't get adopted they have to go back Russia where they'll grow up and when they're 18 get kicked out of the orphanages without any means of supporting themselves. Ugh. Sorry, I just think that's sad. They're all so sweet though! 

Hmm…I noticed something. Did you ever notice that in the comic Inu Yasha never really talks about Kagome's looks? Like in those other fics I noticed that they have him complimenting her physical appearance or reflecting on how beautiful she is. I've been studying the few volumes that I have, though, and I've noticed that he never really talks about how she looks! Maybe it's because since he's a hanyou he's kind of learned to look what's inside and not what's out? Or maybe I'm looking too deep into that. Whatever though, just thought I ought to let you know that he won't be mentioning her looks a lot because I think it's just a little ooc. Not a lot though. Gah, I'm shutting up before I say something stupid. …maybe it's too late for that. Okay, shutting up. 

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 14: Things That Go Thump in the Dark

Thump

Thump

Creak

Moan

Kagome's hands fisted into the covers.

Thump 

Thump

Creak

Moan

She gritted her teeth and buried her head under the pillow, squeezing the sides over her ears. 

Thump

Creak

Moan

Snarling under her breath, she flipped onto her side, face flaming red as she tried to think of something else. _'Inu Yasha,'_ she sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest and, against all odds, turning even redder. '_It's all his fault,'_ she pouted. 

True to his word, he had led them all to the Snowy Pine Inn where she woke up a day later. Being the kind, considerate person he was, he wasted no time pointing out how he allowed Sango and her to have the room with the view while he just got some random room with a tree by it. It was only when they were walking back from dinner that Kagome discovered that Inu Yasha, so eager to please them of course, failed to mention that the "room with the view" was right next to the honeymoon suite. Speaking of which…

Creakity

Creakity

Creakity

Moan

Creakity

Kagome glared murderously through the dark at the ceiling. She was going to kill Inu Yasha. Okay, the said hanyou was acting a tad nicer as of late, and he did have the nicest eyes…she sighed into the mattress. Who was she kidding? Killing Inu Yasha was the very last thing she wanted to do to him. 

Creak

Moan

Maybe she'd just sit him twenty times instead. 

Creak

…

…Was it over?

She held her breath and cautiously lifted the pillow off her head. Slowly sitting up, she strained to hear any sound that might've implied that her newlywed neighbors were going to resume consummating their marriage. All her ears could pick up was the low murmur of voices. 

They were talking. 

Talking!

She nearly burst into joyful song. Talking she could deal with. Hopefully they'd keep talking until an argument broke out and then they'd sleep in separate rooms and they'd never do the jiggly-wiggly in her hearing range ever again, and, and… she pulled the blankets up under chin and snuggled into her pillow. '_And I can think of whom or what ever I want with no interruptions.'_

Creak

Creak

Creak

Creak

She sat up and tried really hard not to scream out loud. Gods, who were these people? Bunny youkai?

Creak 

Creak

She looked hopefully over at the futon Sango lay in. Surly the racket their neighbors were making woke her up too! 

No such luck. 

With a groan she flopped back down against her pillow, cheeks once again flushing while she mentally screamed at the couple to shut up. Naturally, they didn't oblige. 

Creak

Creak

"…Hoji…"

Creak

"…Gross!" Kagome threw off her blankets. If they were about to get vocal, she was definitely leaving. _'Inu Yasha's room is all the way at the end of the hall. I'll just stay over there until the honeymooners get worn out…if they get worn out,'_ she decided. 

Careful not to wake Sango, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, shivering as her bare feet made contact with the cold floor. Unlike the only other inn she stayed at, the floor wasn't carpet but a continuous slab of white marble. 

Cringing at the cold, she began to painstakingly tip-toe to where she remembered the door was. She bit her lip; what she would do for a pair of fuzzy slippers and a decent nightgown right about now. Unfortunately she had to settle for a thin blanket draped about her shoulders. '_It's better than nothing,'_ she comforted herself, all the while silently praying that she found the door before she walked into it. 

It took a while of groping blindly in the dark, but her hand finally bumped into something metallic, smooth and, like everything else, cold. '_Finally, the door knob. Almost home free!'_ She cheered to herself, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. The newlyweds were getting more and more vocal, and her poor ears weren't so virginal any more. She stifled a disgusted groan; what would her friends say if they knew where quiet, studious Kagome was now? Despite her valiant efforts not to, Kagome reddened at her friends imagined reactions. 

Firmly gripping the doorknob, she shook such silly thoughts out of her head; now was not the time to get homesick. 

She turned the knob slowly, wincing every time it happened to squeak, until finally the door was opened wide enough for her lithe body to easily walk though. Surprisingly, she didn't dive right out the door thanking the gods, as most would. 

First, she stuck her head out the door and looked warily up and down the dark hall: not a person was in sight. Seemingly satisfied, she slipped out the door, making sure to silently close it behind her. Jerkily, as if afraid of appearing too conspicuous, she then pulled her blanket over her head and made her way down the hall all the while chuckling to herself. If any being saw her, they'd think she was sneaking off to some rendezvous with her secret lover…

She froze right in front of his door, fist raised mid-knock and her eyes growing ever-wider. 

'_It does look like we're secret lovers, doesn't it?'_ She thought, chewing on her bottom lip. 

_'Yeah, it does.'_ The annoying voice she'd been trying to ignore, in vein, agreed. 

_'I guess I better go back and just deal with my boinking neighbors.' _ Her hand fell limply back to her side, as if she'd just admitted defeat. 

_'Hey! Hold up! You don't have to sleep **with** him…just **sleep** with him.'_

_'Ugh! And why would I do that?'_

_'You like him. Maybe even lo—'_

_'N-no! I've only known him for, what, a month?'_ She tried to smother the telltale blush on her cheeks, the pout on her face oozing denial. '_I don't!'_

_'You like him.'_

_'You're insane.'_

_'You're the one talking to yourself.'_

_'Oh, shut up.'_ She mentally snapped, the voice actually obeying for once. With the defiant frown still on her face, she softly knocked twice on the door; her expression softened quite a bit at the sound of a loud thump and muttered cursed. 

'_I'll just take a little nap, that's all. And anyway, it's not like we're secretly harboring feelings for each other,'_ she reasoned, flushing. 

With a sigh she took to rubbing her eyes tiredly, as well as attempting to stop blushing, and failed to notice the door open wide enough for a golden eye to peer suspiciously through. 

What she didn't fail to notice was when the door in front of her was suddenly flung open revealing a very pissed looking hanyou. His usually mussed hair was downright wild now, with silver strands flipping outwards or curling softly about his face. Oddly enough, there were also a few leaves tucked behind his twitching ears, not to mention a few on his haori. His mouth hung open as if to angrily yell at her, but his eyes appeared surprised and genuinely confused. On the whole he was a rather comical sight. 

But if Inu Yasha appeared clown-like it was only because Kagome appeared angel-like. When he opened the door he had every intention of telling her to buzz off and then go back to sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to yell at her. She had a pathetic blue blanket draped over her head and about her shoulder, deepening the black of the stray strands of hair that brushed against her pale-pink tinged cheeks. Yet, it wasn't her sleepy, child-like physical appearance that caused his voice to swiftly flee from him. It was the way her presence suddenly assailed his senses at just the opening of a door, the way he suddenly became conscious of the distance between him and her, the way her scent wafted over him every time she moved, the way, the way…

He shuddered. Those thoughts were starting to sound like they belonged to some love-sick school boy. 

Gathering his wits, before he started drooling like a real dog, he snapped back to his usual blunt-bordering-on-rude self.

"What do you want wench?"

Kagome looked shyly down at her hands, "I was wondering if I could sleep with you—erm, I mean in your room, I meant room!" Her face was beginning to resemble an overgrown tomato. 

"Why?" He asked, giving her a suspicious glare. 

She rolled her eyes, "Here, lesse if you can figure out the answer yourself. Either I left the room because of my overly excited newlywed neighbors, or I actually took you up on your offer to make passionate love to you. What do you think?" She fixed him with an accusing stare; he silently stepped out of the way and allowed her to enter his room. 

Snickering as he closed the door, he raised an eyebrow at the girl now occupying his bed, 

"And what do you think you're doing?"

"Sitting on a bed."

"Did I say you could take the bed?"

"No," she sighed, and, looking a little hurt, slid down to the floor, leaving Inu Yasha feeling very guilty. 

"Argh, overly sensitive bitch," he growled, "Did I say you couldn't have the bed?"

"No, but you just sa—"

"Take the bed, wench."

"But where do you sleep, then?" she protested. 

He pointed out an open window to a tree, "I like to sleep in trees." 

"Oh," she climbed back onto the bed and pointed to her hair, "does that explain your, uh…hair pieces?" 

"What? Oh," he ran his fingers though his hair, managing to comb out a few of the leaves. He looked at them in faint amusement. 

Kagome giggled. 

"Shut up," he smirked, "bitch."

"Dummy."

"Wench."

"Jerk."

"Wench."

"Jerk."

"Wench."

"Jerk."

"Go to sleep Kagome."

"Okay. 'Night Inu Yasha." She lay down and performed her nightly ritual of snuggling into her pillow, before she smiled sleepily up at him. He sniffed and tossed his head indifferently, making it over to the window in one leap. Something kept him from going back to his earlier spot in his tree, though. Instead, he sat on the windowsill, legs hanging off the edge. He swung them lazily back and forth, training his intense gaze on the moon. 

Kagome stared at Inu Yasha's back for a while, his silver hair almost white in the moonlight. She couldn't help but wonder about the funny expression on his face earlier when he just opened the door. He appeared almost dazed, and for the first time she couldn't read the emotion in his eyes. This in itself was perturbing; she was usually able to see pass the walls he put up, but his expression this time was so guarded, as if the emotion he was feeling was too precious or too confusing to reveal. 

She shifted and flipped over to face the wall. Why was she worrying any way? It's not like it meant any thing. She flipped over a few more times before giving up and sitting up in bed. 

She couldn't sleep. 

"…Inu Yasha?"

"What now, wench?" He asked exasperatedly, still looking out the window. 

"I can't sleep."

He turned to her in surprise, then scowled, "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I dunno, maybe you can talk to me?" She suggested sheepishly. 

"Are you asking me?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, casting her eyes down to her lap.   
There was a sigh, followed by the hushed rustle of fabric. When she looked up again, it was to see Inu Yasha's irritated face. 

"Budge over," he grumbled embarrassedly. 

Kagome gave him a mock smile of indulgence and scooted over, "It wouldn't hurt you to be nice."

"Fine, thank you." He spat the latter out like it was some repulsive food he was forced into trying. 

"There, now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Are you patronizing me?"

"No, of course not."

"Shut it."

"No."

"Wench."

"Jerk."

"…now what?"

Kagome cocked her head to the side and blinked thoughtfully in Inu Yasha's direction, "Hm…"

"Hm? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means I have an idea," she grinned excitedly, all signs of sleepiness magically vanished. 

"Oh gods…"

Inu Yasha scooted away from the schoolgirl. He watched in horror as an evil gleam shined in her eyes and her lips parted to utter the words he would learn to dread,

"Let's play a game."

A/N: Did that chapter seem kind of choppy to you? Ah well. Tootles.  


	16. To Let Go

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 15: To Let Go

Inu Yasha was an expert on death phrases. Hell, it was one of the few things he prided himself in. Of course, becoming a connoisseur in the art of menacing phrases wasn't easy. One had to be able to take it, as well as dish it out. As a rule, the more you took, the better you got, and considering how he'd been receiving death threats since he was three, he could confidently call himself an expert.  He'd heard them all; some guy even had the nerve to claim that he'd someday turn him into a banana...but that's not the point. The point is that, so far in his life, only one usually meaningless phrase managed to throw him off and that was the banana threat (how would your react to that any way?). But now that Kagome had come along, she had easily upped the tally to three. The first phrase that threw him was the little, "I think your ears are cute" thing, while the second was the "let's play a game" one she just delivered. Then again he wasn't sure if the latter really counted since it creeped him out more then threw him off. He stiffened, brows suddenly furrowing...

This just wasn't right. 

Such a simple phrase, used by small children every day, shouldn't be able to induce such anxiety in a person, especially a strong hanyou like himself. He glanced over at Kagome again, and barely contained a shiver; that grin was getting too scary. 

Clearing his throat, he once again dawned his tough bravado and asked, his face conveying every and all expressions of disinterest, 

"It's not like that clapping shit, is it?" 

"Nope. It's totally different." The grin disappeared and was replaced by a kindly smile that left Inu Yasha feeling far from reassured. 

"Okay," he said dubiously, "how do you play this game?"

"Truth or dare." Her voice was dramatically lowered, sounding eerily like the villain out of a low budget movie. 

"Uh, okay. How do you play this truth or dare?" 

"Truth or dare?"

"Huh?"

"Pick one," Kagome laughed. 

"Huh? Oh! " He raised an eyebrow at her before shrugging, "Uh, dare I guess..." he trailed off, both eyes widening when he noticed the very un-Kagome-like way she was malevolently rubbing her hands together. Oookay, scary. Cue apocalyptic music now, please. 

Catching his nervous eye, she once again treated him with her kindly smile...then cracked her knuckles. 

"Oh shit." 

What did he get himself in to?

He only cracked his knuckles before he opened a big can of whoop-ass. Gods, he hoped this wasn't an example of how he was rubbing off on her. 

"Inu Yasha," Kagome hid a sinister smirk behind a sweet smile, finding immense pleasure at the wide-eyed apprehension she had provoked in him, "Inu Yasha, I dare you tooo dance for me."

His look of abject horror was priceless. 

"What?! What kind of game is this? I'm not your fuckin monkey!"

"Make that _sing_ and dance for me." 

"What the hell? No!" He folded his arms over his chest and turned his back to her, displaying a stubborn streak that Kagome took delight in. 

"But you have to," she sing-songed. 

"Hmph. Make me."

"Do you mean that?"

He peered at her over his shoulder, "Go ahead. It'll be funny to see you try."

"If you insist."

"I d--"

"Sit."

SLAM

Kagome smiled brightly down at him, "Now, about that song." 

He lifted his head from the Inu Yasha shaped impression in the mattress and gave a low growl, 

"I hate you."

"Right back at you."

"No, I really hate you."

"Trying to change the subject, huh?"

He gave another growl and buried his face back into the mattress, 

"Mmpf nopf any mph." 

"What do you mean? You have to know _some_ songs." 

"Nmph."

She nudged at his shoulder with her toe, "You're exaggerating."

He rolled over onto his back, a smug smirk on his face, "I'm not. I don't know any song...oh damn," he propped himself up on his elbows, not looking disappointed in the least. 

"I don't believe that. You must know 'I'm a little teapot' or something. Think harder," she ordered, taking her own advice and frowning in through. 

As she went through her repertoire (A/N: Take that Wanlin!) of songs, she couldn't have hidden her evilly mischievous smile if she wanted to.  The song was rather ancient, and hardly fit the situation, but was so utterly un-Inu Yasha, that he HAD to sing it. Her smile widened. Inu Yasha didn't stand a chance. 

"I know a song you could sing." 

Inu Yasha merely closed his eyes and yawned, "Do you? That's nice."

She glared at him before pursing her lips and crawling determinedly over to where he was sprawled. For the next few minutes, all that could heard was Kagome's harsh indiscernible whisperings into the seemingly inattentive Inu Yasha's ear. Halfway through her hushed rant his elbows gave out from under him, his eyes shot open and he began vehemently shaking his head. 

"No," he protested loudly, "No. I refuse."

"I'll say the s-word." 

"Damn you. Fine." He grumbled in defeat. 

Slowly, like an arthritic-ridden old man, he pushed himself off the bed and shuffled in front of the beaming Kagome. With his arms crossed, eyes on his feet and a scowl on his face, he began muttering something under his breath. 

"Wait, wait! I didn't quite catch that, can you start over?" Kagome cupped her ear and pulled her face into one of mock interest. 

"Why-- *mumble mumble* Baby-- *mumble mumble* You--"

"A little louder," she grinned. 

Looking to tall the world as if he was about to five into a pit of venomous hanyou-eating pigs, he took a deep breath and sand, 

"Why do you build me up?

Buttercup baby just to let me down,

and messme around

and then worst of all..."

Kagome smothered a giggle. Okay, he was more like muttering with melody, but him actually agreeing to the song was out of character enough. Clapping her hands in delight, she called out, 

'You need to get into it more, Inu Yasha. You know, use those hips."

Reluctantly he began swinging his arms back and forth, and stiffly sashaying his butt from side to side, a sour look on his face. On the whole, he could've easily been mistaken for a constipated gorilla. 

"You never call baby

When you say you will

But I love you still."

Kagome almost panicked when Inu Yasha began convulsing. Seconds later she came to the horrible conclusion that he was actually getting into the song and had attempted to sexily ungulate his hips. (A/N: ooc? Yes. Necessary? No. Scarring? Very.)

"I need you

More than anyone, darling

Know that I have from the start...

So build me up

Buttercup, don't break

my heart...okay there, can I stop now?" He ground out, blushing a bright red that would put any strawberry to shame.

She stared blankly at him, still trying to process everything that had just happened. Now, should she just explode with disgusted laughter or point out that he had spoken the last part of the song?

"Well bitch?

She shook her head, choosing the third option of remaining silent. 

He copied her, "What the hell does that mean?"

Finding her voice again she patiently explained, "It means you're not done yet."

"Yes I am. I sang for you, wench."

"And I'm very touched, but you forgot the second part of the dare."

"And that is?"

"You have to sing _and_ dance for me, remember?"

"Oh yeah...damn." He let his eyes drop down to his hands for a moment before flicking them upwards to meet with hers; the mischievous gleam he struggled to keep from dancing conspicuously in his eye didn't go unnoticed. 

"A-aren't you going to get started?" She demanded nervously, becoming even more so when she saw the beginnings of an evil smirk. Not answering her question, he once again shuffled out in front of Kagome, but instead of displaying his scowl of death, he wore a small smirk on his lips and an intense look in his eyes that had Kagome choking on her voice. With one hand casually in the pocket of his haori, he held the other one out to her ,

"C'mon wench." 

"Inu Yasha?"

"Well you said dance, right?" The corner of his lips quirked into a small, roguishly charming smile. 

"R-right," she affirmed, looking from his eyes to his out-stretched hand. 

"What are you just gaping around for, then? Let's dance."

She looked back up into his eyes and finally smiled, "Yeah, let's go."

It was still with hesitance that she placed her hand, so small in comparison, into his; but she felt somewhat reassured, if only a little surprised, when he gently laced his fingers through hers. Of course, she couldn't help but quickly glance at his face to make sure it WAS Inu Yasha she was dancing with and not some demented copy of him, and ended up rolling her eyes with relief once she caught sight of his confidently smirking, yet flushing face. 

Pulling her up onto her feet, he critically looked her up and down and stated haughtily, "You've never danced before, have you wench?" 

"Have you?  
"Of course."

"Then me too."

"You really suck at lying."

"So? Anyway, I attended an all girl's school, so give me a break. Where did a "tough guy," like you, learn how to dance?"

"That's a dumb excuse you have."

"At least I have an excuse and am not trying to change the subject."

He glared at her, "Are you going to let me teach you how to dance or not?"

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise, "You're going to teach me how to dance?" 

"No, I just pulled you up here for the hell of it."

"Um...are you sure you want to teach me how to dance? I don't have much experience in that kind of thing. I'll probably end up killing your feet." 

"Feh, maybe you'd kill some human _boy's _feet, but I told you already, I'm a lot stronger then you weak humans," he growled, somehow unnerved at the thought of her dancing with some other boy...he'd probably be named Hojo or some other dumb name like that.

"...Inu Yasha are you okay? You're kind of...crushing...my hand..."

"Wha? Oh, I'm fine," he snapped, loosening his vice-like grip, but not entirely letting go. Succeeding at forcing down the flush rising to his cheeks he continued, in a very scholarly fashion, I might add, 

"Now, dancing _my_ way is real simple. You just have to...well...submit...not like I'm your king and everything, of course I wouldn't really mind that, but er...well...just--just follow me wench." 

Kagome, who had gotten lost at the whole "submit" part, just stared confusedly at him,

"Follow? What do you mean?"

"Shut up, and you'll see," he smirked, positioning her hand on his shoulder and sliding his arm around her waist. Momentarily marveling at how light she felt, he began to guide her in a sloppy oval about the room. 

"Uh, Inu Yasha," she said, "are you sure this is dancing? We're kind of just doing a swaying-walking thing."

He sighed, wincing as she stepped on his foot for what had to be the fifth time. "Well, we'd be doing more then swaying-walking if you didn't keep on stepping on my damn foot."

"Sorry. I guess I'm not very good at this, huh?" She apologized sadly. 

He made a sound that was a mix of a sigh and a growl, "Don't be stupid. You'd be good if you weren't so damn stubborn."

"And what that's supposed to mean?" Her sadness had evaporated and was replaced by anger, which she proceeded to vent through an energetic stomp on his foot. 

"It means," he scowled, resorting to slowly dancing in circles, "that you're not submitting."

"Submitting? You were one of those little kids who wanted to be a dictator when they grew up, weren't you?"

"No, not like that stupid. You're not--not," he struggled for the right word, stopping their dance all together, "You're not letting go."

"Letting go of what?"

He ran a clawed hand through his hair in frustration; frustrated not because of Kagome, but because he couldn't find an accurate way of describing the way he danced, 

"When you let go you need to just relax, loosen up, you know...let go."

She shook her head, "I still don't get it."

What was it that Inu Yasha was trying to tell her any way? Couldn't he just teach it to her?  Gosh, she never expected dancing to be this hard. 

"Do you trust me?" He asked suddenly.

Caught off guard, she just blinked at him, "Wha--"

"Just answer the question. Do you trust me, Kagome?"

She looked curiously up into his face, "Of course I do, but what does that have to do with--"

He silently interrupted her by once again snaking his arm about her waist and positioning her hand on his shoulder. Okay, she was really confused. 

"Inu Yasha what are--"

"Show me."

"...beg pardon?"

"Show me you trust me."

"Wait, how--" 

To her annoyance he didn't wait for her to finish her question, instead he once again began to do the swaying-walk thing again. Only this time around, she became acutely aware of his hand applying a soft pressure to her right side before he, giving no other warning, swung her to the left. Still not quite sure what was going on, she once again felt that small pressure, except on her left, so she prepared herself to be swung to the right. Naturally she was surprised when she was swung to the left, so much that she actually stumbled on her own feet. Smirking Inu Yasha steadied her and tsked, 

"Nuh-uh-uh. You anticipated the move. Just relax. Trust me." 

Nodding, she concentrated and this time when she felt him apply pressure to her right, she merely loosened her body and allowed him to lead her wherever he chose. It continued in this fashion, dancing in circles then randomly changing directions, until it slowly evolved into dancing in triangles, squares, stars and getting twirled and dipped and spun off her feet. 

As he dipped then immediately twirled her, the realization of what Inu Yasha had been trying to explain hit her like a wet fish. She had just managed to unlock the secret to Inu Ysaha's way of dancing. The joy of her realization spread across her face so fast, that even he couldn't help smirking at her a little. Finally, she got it. 

"I don't need to know how to dance, do I?" she stated excitedly, "I just need to allow you to lead me, right?"

"Yeah. You just need to submit," he sniffed loftily, twirling her again. 

"So basically you do the dancing and I make us look good," she teased slyly. 

He looked down his nose at her, "Wrong. I do all the work AND make us look good. You're just kind of there."

"Like the icing on a cake?"

"Nope," he dipped her, "more like the fork you eat it with."

"I should be angry about that obviously false comment, but I think I'll let it pass. I'm in such a good mood, that I can do anything."

"You mean that?" He mimicked her from their earlier conversation. 

"Yup. Go ahead and attempt to throw me off, it'll be fun to see you try." 

"Oh yeah, bitch? Don't say I didn't warn you," he smirked. With that said, he gave up all pretenses of keeping their dance to even a ghost of a waltz and started off on a dance of sheer improvisation. He swept her across the room, doing a series of turns and twirls in hopes of throwing her off and making her stumble. To his delight--erm, I mean, disappointment, she never stumbled once. She seemed to have come to a full understanding of his way of dancing, and with just the softest of touches he could make her spin or twirl or sway, a fact that filled him with a strange sort of euphoria. His feet seemed to have a mind of their own and they were swirling gaily about the room in a dance that was utterly different then the uniformed steps they were doing earlier. 

The pair appeared to be floating magically around the moonlit room, Kagome occasionally laughing out when she was unexpectedly twirled. And how could she not laugh? The air was so thick with laughter and happiness, one couldn't help but "let go" and get high off the inebriating atmosphere. Even Inu Yasha let a chortle or two slip, but he was too busy reveling in the strange, but not unwelcome, feeling of whole-ness he was experiencing. The gnawing empty pain he wasn't even aware he possessed was gone and he found himself growing increasingly comfortable. He didn't even have to think about anything. Sure, he had to admit that he and Kagome were both acting a lot closer and downright affection at times, but he knew she knew that they would both pretend nothing had happened as soon as the sun came out. But at the moment there was no sun. There was no Kikyo, no jewel, no sins he was about to commit. At the moment, his world consisted of Kagome, the moon, the stars, and him. And he was, in his own gruff way, happy.

Kagome shared Inu Yasha's feelings of complete contentment and happiness with the world. She had, as he had so vaguely described, let go, and she was dancing on air. There was a delicious, unusual warmth in her chest that was threatening to explode any moment, and yet she didn't want it to. She wanted to keep it there, to glow safe deep within her bosom where no one, especially Inu Yasha, would see it. Inu Yasha. He certainly was acting different that night. She may have been an oracle, but she would never have dreamed that she would one night find herself dancing in his arms with the moon and the stars as their only source of light...

Great, now she really did feel like she was rendezvousing with her secret lover. She blushed. Lover? No, definitely not Inu Yasha. He was coarse, and crude and mean while her friends said a lover should be kind and polite and loving. But then again, he wasn't always mean. He always managed to go out of his way to make her stop crying, and he DID find her water that one time. Plus she trusted him with her very life. Wasn't trust, especially a deep trust like hers, the basis of every relationship? Relationship?! She blushed even more; when did relationship get into the picture? Could she actually be falling for--but that would be insane. Absurd. '_I refuse to think about something so silly, and so impossible,'_ she announced to herself with a decided nod, choosing instead to focus on how safe she felt and the strong, gentle way his hand rested on the small of her back.

And so the minutes passed and they continued dancing airily about the room until Inu Yasha did his finishing move of catching her about the waist and twirling her onto the bed where she flopped backwards, breathless. He joined her moments later. 

"You do know," she panted, looking up at the ceiling, "that I said you had to dance FOR me, now WITH me?" She rolled over onto her side and laughed at the horror-stricken stare he was giving the ceiling, "But I think that little dancing lesson will have to do."  

"Good," he said, obviously relieved, "Now, my turn. I dare you to--"

"Nooope!" She laughed, clapping her hand over his mouth. They both froze at the simple action, Kagome because she realized covering a guy's mouth was not like covering a girl's mouth, and Inu Yasha because he didn't usually allow people to live after they touched his face, yet he found himself not minding. Seconds of embarrassed silence ticked by until they both simultaneously decided to do something. Kagome pulled her hand away and fisted it over her chest while Inu Yasha...well...

"Ew! You were going to lick my hand?" 

He eyed her angrily, tongue still sticking out, "Better then biting it right?" At Kagome's peeved expression he hurried on, "but what about that dare, huh? I dare you to--"

"No, no! You can't just go around daring me to do stuff. First you have to ask me truth or dare, and then I get to pick one," she instructed as if it were the most obvious thing to do.

"Fine," he huffed, "Truth or dare, bitch?" _'Pick dare, pick dare, pick dare...'_

"Hm...I pick da--truth," she smiled impishly at him. 

"Dammit. Now what?"

"Ask me any question, and I'll have to answer it truthfully."

"And how do I know you're telling the truth?"

"I have to."

"Who says?"

"The gods."

"Bullshit."

"Well, you'll just have to trust me then."

He snapped his head around to gaze at her, an unreadable expression on his face. 

"...what?"

"N-nothing."

"Uh, okay then. Ask away."

"Okay, hm..." he stroked his chin dramatically, ears flattened against his head in thought. "Why have you stayed in that school of yours your whole life instead of living at home with your dad or aunt, like humans normally do?" 

Kagome rolled onto her back and joined In Yasha at starting at the ceiling, leaning her legs against the wall, "That's because I don't have a dad or an aunt like 'humans normally do.' Both my parents are dead." She stated quietly without, Inu Yasha noted, the faintest trace of bitterness in her voice. 

"Sorry," he mumbled. 

"Not your fault," she half-smiled, "They found me when I was a baby lying in a basket at the front of the school. I never knew my parents. Well actually, the seers tried to read me when I was a baby and apparently my dad was some merchant named Onigumo, but he got killed by a bandit or something," she shrugged carelessly, turning her head to face Inu Yasha who had been looking thoughtfully at her profile. "My turn."

"Feh," he turned back to the ceiling. 

"So, truth or dare?"

"Do you really think I'd pick dare again, wench?"

"Well it was worth a try."

"Just ask the question."

"Okay then, what's your favorite color."

"Red. My turn! Truth or dare?"

"Truth, of course."

"Damn. Okay, what's YOUR favorite color?"

"Hey, you stole my question! It's blue by the way. My turn. Truth or dare?"

"Keh, truth."

She turned to face him, a serious expression on her face. "Do I really smell bad?"

He refused to meet her gaze as he grudgingly admitted, "No. Y-you actually smell kind of good."

"Oh," she flushed, looking, once again, at the ceiling. "Your turn."

"I know. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Hmph, fine. Uh...where'd you get the cat?"

"Oh, Mr. Toodles? (A/N: DUH!!) Have you seen him around lately? Er, any way, back to the question. This peddler came by the school one day, and his cat just had some babies. I wanted one small gray one really bad, but I only had a button and a ribbon to trade for it," she laughed fondly at the memory. "Any way, the peddler went away, but an hour later I walked back up to my dorm and found that same gray kitten waiting for me on my bed."

She folded her hands over her stomach, "My turn. Truth or truth?"

"Huh? But I thought you said this game was called truth or dare?"

"Well all we seemed to be picking was truth, so..." 

"Okay I get it. I pick truth."

"I wouldn't have guessed," she smiled at him. He returned it with a small smile of his own, knowing she wouldn't be able to see it through the dark, "So...Inu Yasha...um...what did you mean in the penuvoi when you said human children didn't play with you?" 

"You still remember that?"

"Answer the question."

"Don't boss me around bitch."

"Don't change the subject, jerk."

"Fine. When I was a pup the little human brats in the village I stayed at weren't allowed to play with me. And if they did it was to use me to improve their rock-throwing skills." He smirked bitterly, ears drooping. 

"Oh my gosh, that's horrible! Why would they do that? Why didn't their parents stop them?" she gasped, appalled. 

Inu Yasha turned to her in surprise, "Because of these," he pointed to his ears. 

"Why? They're so cute," she exclaimed. He could sense she was just itching to touch his ears, so he swiftly changed the subject. 

"Truth or truth?"

"Huh? Oh," she tapped her finger thoughtfully against her lips, "I piiick truth."

"What was the last part of your premonition?"

Her shoulders tensed and it was amazing they didn't suffer whiplash from such a sudden change of the atmosphere. 

'W-what makes you think there's a second part to it?"

"You suck at lying."

"I try," she smiled feebly, withering at the expectant glare he was giving her. "Okay, okay. Fine. I'll talk." Sitting up, she curled up into a little ball and began,

 " If you don't remember, I left off on the part when I asked what would happen if I chose not to find the Shikon no Tama. Any way, after I asked the question the voices began doing their chanting thing again and suddenly a howling wind swoops down on me, and I'm flying towards the top of the mountain. And it wasn't the pleasant, 'ooh, I have wings, how cool' kind of freedom, it was the 'holy crap I have no control where I'm going' kind of flying. I landed kinda heavily on the very peak of the mountain, right next to this crumbling stone alter. Shakily, I stood up and made my way towards it and soon discovered that in comparison to everything else on top of that god-forsaken mountain, it was really, really warm. My hands were blue with cold, so of course I wanted to warm them. I held my hands over the alter and that's when I noticed that dangling from my right hand was the Shikon no Tama itself! I—I could actually feel the power throbbing from it." The latter was stated in a reverently hushed voice. 

"So, I have the Shikon and I'm holding it above the alter, and there's blood dripping from a cut on my palm…the cut that Naraku just gave me actually. Uh, yeah, the blood's dripping from my palm onto the jewel, but the jewel just seems to suck it all up and even begins craving for more. Suddenly a man, a boy, with silver hair and golden eyes skulks out from the shadows, his clothes all black.  Without a word he points to my left, and I see a girl with black hair dressed in red, and three other shadowy figures that I don't recognize but I know they're dear to me. They're all lying a pool of blood with their wrists and necks slit, and small designs scratched onto their faces. When I turn back to the silver-haired boy it occurs to me that his clothes aren't really black. No, his clothes have soaked up so much blood that they appear black." She hugged her knees, pretending not to see the look of horror that momentarily flit across Inu Yasha's face.  

"At first I wanted to scream at him, hurt him, you know, do something to pay him back. But all I could do is cry and clutch the jewel, even though it's burning my hand. All of a sudden he, the boy he, erm, kind of grabs my chin and eh, kisses me. My lips began to burn like my hand when out of no where someone whispers, 'Vengence, love, hate, death, war, pain, love…' and those words seem to be a signal to someone because in a flash I'm drowning in a salty sea of tears. I—I want to scream, of course, but still, all I can do is quietly sob. Y—the boy, put his arms around me and I thought he was comforting me. Slowly he started hugging me tighter and tighter until I couldn't breath and every part of my skin he touched burned even more. And then something strange happened, well, stranger then everything else. I don't know why, but I automatically put my palms on his cheeks and look straight into his eyes, as if I was saying good bye and erm…kissed him. Something black flew into my stomach while at the same time the boy shrieked and with a woman's voice began to chant with a million voices, and his eyes were no longer gold but purple and, and…" she trailed off, too busy blinking back tears. 

"And?" he prompted, not fully aware that throughout her narration he had been steadily leaning closer to her. 

"And," She took a deep breath, "And then he took the Shikon no Tama, put it on a chain and said it was an offering to the goddess. Then he touched my lips and everything hurt like there was no tomorrow, truth or truth Inu Yasha?" She hurried through the explanation, asking a question at the end to put a stopper on the subject as well as confirm a just-discovered suspicion. 

"Truth."

She rolled over onto her stomach, not caring that she was practically right under his nose. Eyes glazed with unshed tears, she looked accusingly up into his face, "What are you planning to do with the jewel once we find it?" 

He grimaced and looked away, "Become a full youkai."

"What?" She should've known there was a reason behind Inu Yasha "selflessly helping" her on her quest. 

"I said I'm gonna become a fucking whole youkai, dammit!" He stood up on the bed and looked almost desperately down at her upturned face, "I'm strong, hell, I know that. But with the jewel I can become even stronger. I can became the strongest youkai ever, even stronger then my father. I can avenge Kikyo's death, avenge my mother's death, and no one will dare throw rocks at me or sneer at me. I'll belong somewhere. I'll belong with the strong, no I'll be the king of the strong."

Kagome stood up too and glared angrily at him, "So what are you planning to do Inu Yasha? Make me do all the dirty work and then steal the jewel from me? You were just going to leave me?! After I told you, only you for god's sakes, my whole premonition? After everything in general?" 

"Shit, I don't want to! You think I want to take the jewel from you? Dammit Kagome, you of all people. Maybe at first I was planning to, but now…I don't know." 

"Then let me helpyou."

"What?" he jerked his head up.

"Let me help you," she repeated, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. 

"I don't need your help bitch," he muttered rebelliously, slumping back down onto the bed. 

"Oh, you don't?" she asked softly. "FINE. Be that way," scrubbing angrily at her slight tear-filled eyes with the back of her sleeve, she snapped, 

"I try to be nice to you, be understanding, but no. You just have to be so stubborn and proud and…and I'm leaving." She hopped off the bed and stormily made her way to the door, still ranting under breath. Just as she was about to wrench the door open, Inu Yasha's voice floated from across the darkened room, 

"Truth or truth?"

"What?"

"Truth or truth?"

She squinted angrily at him through the dark, "I don't have time for this."

"Pick one." He ordered sharply. 

"Truth."

"Why do you want to help _me_?"

Kagome's eyes softened, "Do you even have to ask that? It's because you're my friend, you dope." 

"Feh." She heard the whisper of fabric as he shifted; he most likely crossed his arms proudly over his chest. 

"Hey, Inu Yasha?"

"What now, wench?" 

"Truth or truth?"

"Heh," she could hear the arrogant smirk in his voice, "Truth."

"What's your favorite food?"

"…Come closer wench, I can't hear your damn question," he barked (A/N: No pun intended. Hee hee, dog hanyou, bark…he he), though they both were aware that he could hear her just fine.

She stifled a grin and crept back over to sit on the edge of the bed, "What's your favorite food?"

"Oh, that's what you were asking? I don't have one. Truth or truth?"

"Truth," she grinned, falling comfortable onto her back next to him. 

"Okay, um…what's YOUR favorite food?"

"Stealing my questions again? You're such a thief," she said, looking teasingly at him out of the corner of her eye. 

"Just answer the question," he smirked, closing his eyes in boredom. 

"Oden."

"What's oden?"

"What's oden?! It's only the best stuff kami graced on this earth."

"Hm, never heard of it. Your turn, by the way." 

"If you could have any magical powers, what would it be?" she punctuated her question with a yawn. 

He lazily opened one eye in semi-interest, "Where do you think up of these questions, any way?" 

"All girl's school remember? You have to be good at this stuff…"

"Oh. I'd like to fly." 

"Yeah, flying would be cool," she agreed, yawning and flipping onto her side to face him. "Your turn," she yawned again. 

"Truth or truth?"

"The first one."

"Please tell me you've seen a few guys other than me."

"Nope. Remember, I've lived in that all-girl's school all my life."

"You must've been to town, or something."

"Nope. Actually, I think when I was younger I knew this other boy,  but this was when I was five or something. I can't really remember his name or what he looked like, but I only played with him for one day, so yeah, that doesn't count. Truth or truth?"

"Wow, you're really pathetic wench. Truth."

"You said I smell good right? So what do—" she stopped to muffle a long, face-splitting yawn, "What do I smell like to you?"

"Rain."

She wrinkled her nose, "Rain? Rain has a smell?"

"Well okay, not exactly rain. But your scent's like what the air smells like after a shower…in summer…" he glanced at her, grateful she couldn't see his flush in the dark. 

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh…wha? Oh, yeah, yeah. Summer showers, yeah," she muttered, leaning her head on her elbow, still facing him. 

"Truth or truth?"

"Truth," she yawned.

"Are you sleepy wench?"

"No, what makes you think that?" She murmured drowsily, eyelids lowering closed. 

"No reason, no reason," he whispered to himself with a smirk, rolling over to face the, now, sleeping Kagome. Her hands were curled against the smooth curve of her cheek and there was a sleepy smile gracing her lips, giving her the air of a small child resting after a day of play. Even asleep she looked so much like Kikyo; one would think they acted the same, but he knew how untrue that was. '_I should stop comparing them,'_ he thought to himself, the sounds of Kagome's soft breathing calming him, _'The wench would throw a hissy-fit if she knew how many times I compare her to Kikyo.' _

 _' Gods, maybe I should take my own advice_,' he mused struggling to keep awake. Finally giving up, he allowed her sweet scent to lull him into the land of slumber, but not before contentedly adding, 

'_Maybe I should just…let go.'_

A/N: Oooh, so more conflict comes into play. Inu Yasha wants to take the jewel, but Kagome must take it to the alter or else the whole world is screwed. Hm…how will they ever get along now? Er, wait…I made them fall asleep together at the end of the chapter didn't I? Oh well, guess they can get along perfectly fine despite wanting the same thing. I had to re-write the beginning of the chapter about three times. VERY annoying. This chapter has resulted in the deaths of over five pencils. And no, I didn't overwrite them, I broke them in frustration.

Okay, I admit the dancing scene seemed a bit…okay, uber OOC. But I couldn't help adding it in. I was watching a thing on dancing on VH1 and they were talking about Beauty and the Beast and the dude said something along the lines of: When characters sing to each other they're confessing their love, when they dance, they're making love. I wanted to apply that to my story. I always figured that the whole Kagome and Inu Yasha thing would come about by them making love before confessing. And when I say make love, I don't mean him slamming her onto the kitchen table and boinking her like a rabbit, mmkay? When they dance it symbolizes a turning point in their relationship. You can take that however you want. 

I was so happy about my last chapter. I got two reviews! Whoa, that sounds actually rather lame. But anyway, considering how I got two reviews for one chapter, I'm not expecting one for this one. You're welcome to prove me wrong though. ^_^


	17. So Enters the Perv

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 16: So Enters the Perv

Warmth.

It was the first sensation that registered in Inu Yasha's muddled mind as he reluctantly pulled himself from the land of slumber. He could feel it curled against his chest: a soft, comforting warmth that somehow managed to coax out a low rumble of contentment from deep within his chest. Tightening his embrace about it, he refused to open his eyes, even when he felt the warmth move in his arms and his was pressed against some unknown silken mass laden with the smell of sleep and summer. 

Another content croon rumbled from his chest as the warmth once again shifted in his arms and something soft brushed against the tip of his nose. It was close, the source of all the heat that is. He could feel something like warm, gentle puffs of air tickle his neck…

'_Shit.'_

His eyes fluttered open, and what he saw caused him to quickly scrunch them closed. 

Okay, whew, breeeeathe. 

So what if Kagome was cuddling into his chest? So what if the top of her head rested quite comfortably under his chin? He was a friggin hanyou! He could easily slip off the bed unnoticed. 

…Or not. 

When did Kagome get so strong? He cautiously cracked one eye and, for the second time that day, promptly scrunched it shut. 

'_Shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!'_

How did she do that? How did she get him to wrap his arms around her waist so tightly? I mean, it's not like he would hug her _willingly_.

He was about to risk one more look at her, but he felt her stir and the sensed the last traces of sleep leave her scent. '_Oh shit, oh shit,'_ he panicked, '_She's going to sit me to the feudal era!'_ He mentally cowered in fear while trying to steady his uneven breathing at the same time. 

Fortunately, the gods were with him that day, and when Kagome drowsily lifted her head, he appeared fast asleep. Of course, the fact that she was still half-asleep could've blinded her to the rather unconvincing way his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. 

"Mmm…why can't I get up?" She murmured to herself, a small yawn escaping her lips. Another yawn followed closed behind, but was cut short when she realized that the "blanket" she was trying to stifle it with was a familiar shade of red. With bated breath, her eyes slowly, reluctantly, traveled up the length of the red fabric until they rested on a seemingly sleeping hanyou's face. 

Wide awake now, Kagome decided to treat herself to a long study of Inu Yasha's sleeping face. When awake, his keen eyes could always tell when she was staring at him, but now she could look all she wanted without fear of embarrassment. Her eyes eagerly roamed over his face, taking in everything from his chiseled cheekbones to the itty-bitty, barely-existent mole under his right eye. She sighed; even with his eyes closed there was this restless feeling about him. He was the epitome of caged wilderness, if you will. Only his adorable awkwardness and annoying stubborn streak kept him from appearing too primal. Yet even with these human attributes, Kagome noticed that strangers they passed tended to shy away from him any way. 

She sighed again and smiled, finally noticing Inu Yasha's tightly closed eyes. Reaching upwards with both hands, she gently rubbed his drooping ears and apologized softly, "Sorry."

His eyes flew open in confusion just as she shoved him off the bed.  

With a yelp he fell to the floor, but not before accidentally dragging a loudly protesting Kagome down with him. They landed with an echoing crash in a mass of tangled limbs, blankets, laughter and curses. 

If the crash was considered loud, the after effects were deafening. Inu Yasha was cursing a blue streak and bellowing about ungrateful bitches while Kagome was tossing out phrases such as, "Hentai!" and "Pervert!" at the top of her lungs and both of them were attempting to disentangle themselves from the multitude of blankets intertwined about them. They nearly succeeded on several occasions, but one of them always messed it up somehow and sent them crashing back to the ground. The fifth, and last time, they tried Inu Yasha claimed, in that oh-so-arrogant way of his, that Kagome actually took his offer to make love seriously. His statement triggered a train of events that consisted of Kagome whirling angrily about to face him, which caused the blankets to bind them chest to chest, which, in turn, lead to a flurry of movement in opposite directions. The outcome of such a lack of cooperation, pointless pushing around and much embarrassment was Kagome being knocked flat on her back with Inu Yasha, bound by those damn blankets still, on top of her. 

They both mentally swore at the same time; was Kami that determined to push them into every embarrassing position possible? 

"Get off me now!" A red-faced Kagome demanded, weakly pushing at his shoulder. 

"I'm trying wench," Inu Yasha growled, just as red-faced.

 His futile efforts mixed with his inability to move freely only fueled his frustration, "Damn these fucking blankets to hell," he spat after struggling for a few minutes. 

"Hurry up! Get off me."

"Huh, you don't think I'm trying?!"

"Well I never knew you could dance, right? Maybe you have a secret fetish for crushing girl's boobs with your chest!" She snapped sarcastically. His eyes widened and he flushed as he growled, 

"Even if I were such a perv, I'd pick someone a lot better than you!" 

She gaped up at him, speechless. 

"Er…say something wench," he ordered, the sudden darkening of her eyes getting him nervous.

"Sit." 

"Idiot!"

He shoved her head safely out of the way as his own head slammed into the floor; he couldn't do so much for the rest of her body, so she had to endure his chest suddenly pressing down extremely hard on hers. 

"O-oh my gosh!" She stuttered a moment later when the echoes of Inu Yasha's face kissing the floor died down. Good God, her face was going to explode if she didn't stop blushing; she just discovered certain _other_ areas of the body that had smashed against hers. 

"G-get off me!" she screamed. 

Inu Yasha's ears pressed flat against his head, but his muffled voiced sounded almost tired when he stated, 

"Can't."

"What do you mean 'can't?' You must be able to!"

"Nope. It doesn't wear out for a while."

"That can't be right," Kagome insisted, desperately beginning to push at his chest again. Oh no, what if someone walked in on them? How humiliating! 

Compared to Kagome and her panicked efforts, Inu Yasha seemed unusually calm. He smirked into the floor and snickered at her pathetic pushes. Ha! Maybe this would teach the wench to think before she sat him. 

"Get off, get off," she chanted, pushing at his shoulders with all her might, "Get off!"

"What's going on in here?!" Sango's startled voice rung out. 

"He won't get off me," Kagome whimpered, just happening to leave out that Inu Yasha couldn't get off her if he wanted to. It was just a minor detail after all. 

"What?! I ca—"

Sango gave the poor hanyou no time to protest. She swooped down on him, armed with a pillow and her fists. 

"Get off her! Get off her! Kami, not another pervert!" She pounded his head mercilessly, aided by a kicking and screaming Kagome. 

"Ow bitch! Lemme explain!" 

"What's there to explain?" _Punch_ "You're on top—" _Hit _"—of Kagome!" _Punch! Punch!_ "I thought you were different!"

"Get off, get off!" _Kick Kick_ "Get off, get off!" _Kick Kick_

"Kagome, you can—" _Punch_ "—do so much better then—" _punch _"—him!" 

"Ouch! What the fuck?!"

"Shut up!" _Punch!_

Growling wordlessly in frustration, the sit finally wore off and he leapt upwards off Kagome, tearing the blanket that had originally bound them in to pieces. 

"There, I'm off!"

"Why didn't you just get off when I first told you to?" Sango asked smugly, helping a sheepish Kagome to her feet. 

"Er well, it's because I sat him."

"Oh."

"Why the hell did you come barging into my room, any way?" He glared at Sango while rubbing his sore jaw. 

"Uh, sorry about that. Uh, any way, yeah, I met an old friend do—"

"Pervert!"

SLAP

"Shit, what was that for wench?"

Kagome cocked her head to the side, "You mean you weren't the one who groped me?"

He looked appalled at the mere idea of performing such a lecherous act, "Why would I—"

"Eep!"

"Houshi!"

"Ah! My lady Sango, I can explain!"

BAM!

"Who the hell?" Inu Yasha asked, wrapping a protective arm about Kagome's waist while shooting murderous glares at the dazed, dark-haired man on the floor. 

"Allow me to introduce you to the houshi," Sango sighed, noting the neurotic darting of Kagome's eyes. "And, trust me, I'm sorry for his wandering hands, Kagome. It's his way of greeting every female he meets." 

Still clinging to the front of Inu Yasha's haori, Kagome nodded before observing, "He doesn't look like a houshi to me. He's dressed more like a sorcerer."

"That's because he is."

"He's both?"

"No, houshi's just a nickname. His real name's Miroku." 

"Who cares? Why the hell is he here?"

"Perhaps you should let me answer that my lady Sango," the man named Miroku joined, his voice deceivingly clipped and innocent sounding. Standing up, he brushed his robes off, the clank of his many spell chains drawing everyone's attention. 

"First, I apologize if I startled your lovely lady friend. I had been watching your interesting display of affection from the doorway and was under the impression she was single." His head was bent in what appeared to be honest repentance. 

Kagome smiled sympathetically at Miroku and slipped out of the safety of Inu Yasha's arm, clearly convinced by Miroku's "heartfelt" apology,

"Apology accepted. But your first impression was right, I'm not Inu Yasha's girlfriend or anything like that."

"In that case," he was suddenly kneeling before her, her hands clasped tightly within his own, "Would you be mine? And eventually bare my child?" 

"No she won't do any of that," Inu Yasha snarled, pulling the stunned, not to mention bright red, Kagome back from Miroku's hands. "Don't tell me this is the only friggin reason this bastard came."

"Why no, actually," Miroku winced, rubbing the ear Sango had brutally yanked when he had proposed to Kagome, "I hear your destination is the Devil's Nest." 

"Hmph. What's it to you?"

"Well, I know the way there." 

"Really? So do I."

"Ah, but do you know the fastest, safest way?"

Inu Yasha paused, then closed his eyes and folded his arms haughtily over his chest, "You have five minutes."

"Um," Miroku threw a questioning look over to Sango, but she just glared stonily at him, "Ehe, yes. Well, as I said earlier, I happen to know the safest and quickest path to the Devil's Nest. The path I know of doesn't require going around the Kentachi Swamp and through the Forest of Whisper at all."

"Where exactly is the path? And why were you ever at the Devil's Nest in the first place?" Inu Yasha asked warily. 

Miroku smiled sheepishly, "Ah, well, I handled some business at the Devil's Nest once…with some rather shady company, I'm ashamed to admit."

Sango made a sound of disbelief, but he just ignored her. 

"As for the path, I'm afraid I can't reveal its exact location unless I'm certain you'll be traversing upon it. I assure you, though, it's quite safe. There's even a beautiful, scenic lake and hot spring by it."

  
Kagome eyes lit up, "Hot spring! Oh, I haven't been in one of those for ages," she sighed, starry-eyed. Turning to Inu Yasha, she began tugging at his sleeve while coaxing, "C'mon Inu Yasha. The path's fast AND safe. You're always saying we're behind schedule, this would be a great way to catch up, right?"

He rolled his eyes. 

"Why are you being so stubborn," Kagome pouted, "Would it hurt you to put a little trust in someone for once? I mean, so what if he's a corrupted sorcerer? Eh, no offence Mr. Miroku,"

"None taken. And you can just call me Miroku."

"See, Inu Yasha! He's being even nicer than you!" 

"Like that's hard," Sango muttered under her breath. 

Inu Yasha refused to acknowledge that he was being spoken to, only shaking off Kagome's placating hand and tossing his head. 

The schoolgirl's brows furrowed furiously; okay, time to pull out the big guns.

"Inu Yasha," her voice was velvety soft and dripping with menacing warning, "If you don't even consider Miroku's kind offer I'll say the s-word." 

He appeared unfazed, "Go ahead, it's the only way you can get what you want, right?"

"Why you," Kagome stomped towards him, "I'll show _you_ other ways I can get what I want. (A/N: …oh man, ew. Don't deny you're thinking of that in other ways you perverts!)" She grabbed a fistful of his silvery hair in each hand and dragged his head downwards. 

"Ow, ow! You violent bitch!" He grabbed her wrists, trying to pry her fingers off of his hair. 

"You're the stubborn mule!"

"Wench!"

"Jerk!"

"Whore!"

"Butthead!"

"Butthead? What kind of an insult is that?"

"It's my kind of insult."

"Well fuck that."

"Screw you."

"Fuck you."

"Same thing."

"Huh, no—"

"I propose," Miroku cut in loudly, his violet eyes twinkling in amusement, "that Inu Yasha thinks of my offer while we all eat breakfast, my treat."

"I second the motion," Kagome agreed, her stomach burbling loudly as well. 

"Yeah, I agree with the houshi…wow, I never thought I'd ever say that," Sango added, eyes widening in amazement. 

"Just on thing houshi," Inu Yasha strode over in front of Miroku and looked at him accusingly in the eye, "How'd you know my name?"

"Why, my lady Sango told me of course," he chuckled, stepping out of the bedroom and heading towards the dining room. 

"_My_ lady Sango?" Kagome repeated, looking pointedly at the bendela. 

"Don't listen to the houshi, he's delusional. Now let's go eat, I'm starving." She left the room as well, Kagome hurrying after her, 

"We're not having any more of that tough meat stuff are we?"

"No, Kagome…"

Their voices faded as they continued down the hall, leaving Inu Yasha standing in the middle of the room, alone. Solemn, thoughtful, wistful and serious expressions chased each other across his face, his eyes slowly traveling in "triangles, squares and stars" about the floor.* When they finally rested on the bed, he frowned and his hands clenched at his sides, his claws biting into his palm. 

What was he going to do about Kagome? Hell, they both knew that he was going to take the jewel away from her eventually. Did she really mean what she said about helping him? No, that would be selfish of him. Dammit! He hung his head, submersing himself deep within his troubled, confusing thoughts. 

"Inu Yasha."

He stiffened when that familiar scent wafted into the room, his hands falling limp at his sides as he turned around to face Kagome. 

"C'mon Inu Yasha," she smiled softly, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice, "Breakfast is ready."

They stared at each other for a moment, just seeking comfort in the mirrored confusion, apprehension and the fear of impending pain in each other's eyes. And then,

"Feh. What're you just standing there for? I'm hungry! Let's go, wench." 

A/N: So Miroku enters the plotline! Yay! Don't worry, there will be more Sango and Miroku interaction in the next chapter. Oh, and about that little phrase * "triangles, squares, and stars." That was from the last chapter when they were dancing, if you didn't recognize it. He was re-tracing their steps. And thank you, thank you, thank you thank you all for all those reviews! They got me all intoxicated like! Oh, and I must dedicate this chapter to my buddy Kerry. Kerry, I couldn't get you those balloons, so this chapter's just for you. ^_^ Oh and muchos thanky-ness to squeakyinuears (that's ur sn right? If I got it wrong I'm sorry, my internet's crapping out on me again. Gr) thank you for reviewing both my ficcys! And thank yous for everyone else who reviewed! I would thank you personally, but as I stated earlier my internet's crapping out on me L 

School's starting again. 

…Must push it back…must make time stop….

NOOOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo

…Yeah, I've had too much soda if you couldn't guess. Lotsa, lotsa soda! 

Cheers all around! 


	18. A Typical Angry Mobfilled Day

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 17: A Typical Angry Mob-filled Day

The city of Udala was sandwiched between extreme terrains such as the scorching Yedlad Desert, the Forest of Whispers and the Deadly Kentashi Swamp. As such, the small city was not only a safe haven from the dangers of the wilderness, but a rich tapestry of cultures brought in by people seeking refuge from harsh conditions or just searching for a new way of life. Quaint, pastel colored cottages lined neatly cemented roads at the heart of the city, while old, gravity-defying architecture grew drunkenly beside the dirt roads on the outskirts. 

One such structure was the Snowy Pine Inn, pride and joy to the citizens of Udala. Snow covered trees the inn was named after lined the cobblestone path leading to the building which served as both an inn to strangers and a gathering place for familiars. 

Frequent travelers of the well-worn, tree-lined path were usually broad-shouldered men trying to escape their wives, maybe find a gullible broad while they're at it; or they were gangly, clumsy youths all of whom just wanted to escape life in general. No matter their motives, all the regulars congregated in the inn's magnificent common room. With it's high vaulted ceilings, wooden rafters and plenty of overly-stuffed arm chairs, it was the ideal place to sit with your mates and moan about life. A gargantuan fireplace that could've easily held ten people comfortably was the focal point of the whole room. It was of excellent craftsmanship; a pile of smooth boulders and mortar wrought into a fireplace fully equipped with cushioned areas to place feet in need of thawing. Most would assume such an exquisite, intimidating creation would be left well alone, but on the contrary, people flocked to it like children to the ice cream man, eager to bathe their faces in the warmth emanating from it. 

A little beyond the fireplace, where its warming glow was reduced to a dim light, lay several tables and stools, their comfort and stability compensating for their crude appearances. A particularly coveted table was situated in a shadowy corner of the large common room; the only table hidden well enough in the shadows and was still warmed by the fire. Its obviously perfect position in regards to the rest of the room made it the table everyone wanted, but could only be had through the most rigorous of negotiations, black mailing and knife fights. 

To the Bad Apples, a handful of angry, eternally stoned group of youths, the latter activities were considered an art form. They had claim over the table the day the group was formed, even going as far as to imprint their names into the aged wood. Yet, even despite their "painstaking" efforts, the bad-ass, rather whiny, youths, were disinclined to whip out their knives at the sight of their beloved table being occupied by a group of strangers. Don't get them wrong; the Bad Apples often found strangers at their table and had dealt with them accordingly. No, the fact the intruders were strangers wasn't what was so unnerving, it was the intangible feeling of danger that played about the small group. A sense that merely waving a knife in their face would lead to events so much more intense and draining than a rumble in the alleyway or a brawl in the common room. 

The self-appointed leader of the Bad Apples was especially aware of the invisible gales of trouble, the ill-concealed tension and anticipation, and the faint stench of something more than comradeship surrounding the group, and it irked him. He almost went as far as to admit that he and his gang were intimidated, but that would be disloyal to the Bad Apples, and he of all the members made it a point to be ferverently faithful to his "pack." Besides, they weren't a bad crew once one got past the occasional bouts of stupidity and thick-headedness  And at least they were all sane, a far cry from the group of strangers whose most sanest-looking member had a bunch of spell chains clanging ominously about his waist. The young leader had had a few shots with the man the other night, intrigued by the roguish charm brimming in his eyes. After about two shots, the gang leader finally noticed the smooth staff lying at the stranger's feet, the pale scar running along his cheekbone and the pensive quirk in his lips. Before the youth could open his mouth to interrogate him, though, the mysterious man was being hugged, yelled and basically abused, by an even more mysterious woman.  The same woman, the leader was surprised to note, who was currently sitting beside the man at the Bad Apple's tables. She was clad in a rather racy attire, but to the overly aggressive teenagers and his raging hormones, it just made her fiery aura all the more alluring. He licked his lips appreciatively at the way her high ponytail accented the virginal curves of her neck…

His friend nudged him, "Uh, you 'kay boss?"

"What? Yeah, fine, fine," he snapped. 

"J-just checkin."

The leader turned back to sullenly watching the strangers at HIS table. Okay fine, the mysterious woman was quite attractive, but she was giving off strong danger vibes, which only grew when he noticed the glint of sharp metal against the curve of her hip. Hm, maybe trying to get to know her better was a bad idea…but not as bad of an idea as eating with a demon! 

The boys eyebrows shot up in alarm as soon as they rested on the other male of the group. 

The stranger screamed demon, and it didn't even seem to care! Had it no respect? It didn't even bother covering up its tell tale ears. They twitched and swiveled every which way like painfully obvious flags, finally pricking upwards and stopping in the young leader's direction. 

The boy froze and had the sudden embarrassing urge to scream like the girl sitting next to the demon, which had just snapped its head around to fix him with a deadly glare. …Fuck. No one should look that intimidating without combusting with the effort. Its glowering features were chiseled, like stone, with a shock of pale hair and deep-set, golden eyes. There was something unexplainably wolfish about it, but the demon boy had turned away before he could continue his study of it, and the leader wasn't about to draw its attention again. 

He took a long drag from the cigarette in between his pointer finger and thumb, tightening the knot of his head-cloth at the same time. The assurance that his gang's symbol was tied securely to his head seemed to reassure him, because he eagerly returned to his prior activity of eyeing the strangers, his focus on the most insane member of the group.   
In all aspects, she appeared to be nothing more than a mere schoolgirl; beautiful gray eyes wide with innocence and rosy lips meant to be parted slightly in laughter. It this was innocent normalcy that made her all the more frightening. What was a little girl doing hanging around such a strange, and obviously dangerous crew? Why was she breaking fast with a demon instead of whispering and giggling over the secrets of human boys like she was supposed to be going? Why did the demon boy, emphasis on demon, regard her with such care, as if she might break? Why was she sitting so _close_ to it, any way? And why was she chanting the word "oden" like some witch doctor? 

The boy took another drag from his cig. Yes, there was a fine line between bad ass and psycho, and he was determined that he and the Bad Apples were going to stay on the right side. It's not like it would hurt to sit at a different table for _one_ day. 

Inu Yasha smirked as he heard the group of kids who had been ogling them settle down at a table at the opposite end of the room. Good. That's where they should be. 

Relaxing his grip on the hilt of Tetsusaiga, he turned his attention to the nervous kitchen wench sliding a platter of steaming oden in front of the group. She glanced at Kagome apprehensively as the schoolgirl gripped her fork and almost pee-ed in her panties with excitement. 

"Oden, oden!" Her chanting got louder as did the sound of her salivating. 

"Oden!" With a total disregard of manners, she speared the said food and began munching happily, ignorant in her bliss to the open-mouthed stares her companions were giving her. 

"Wow," Miroku voiced after a minute of mute gaping, "I think she already ate half the dish."   
"Yeah," Inu Yasha grumbled. He reached over to salvage some before Kagome totaled the dish, only to receive a sharp slap to his wrist. Growling lowly, his ears flattened in annoyance as a narrow-eyed Kagome slide the platter possessively closer to her,

"My oden." 

"Well Inu Yasha," Sango laughed, "looks like you'll just have to wait for the rolls and ramen."

"Worph Mpordered Marmen?"

"I recommend swallowing Lady Kagome."

_Gulp_ "We ordered Ramen?"

"Yes. I've found Ramen to be a time-efficient as well as filling morning meal."

"Why don't you just say breakfast houshi?"

"Anything for you love."

SLAP

"Ah, my lady, your show of affection is painful, but I will endure it for you."

Sango blushed and gawked at him, "W-why y-you!" Her hand raised to slap him again, but the pair's small, and painful in Miroku's case, squabble came to an abrupt halt when the nervous kitchen wench reappeared and placed another platter before them, this time piled with breads, fruits, sushi, pocky and a single cup of ramen. 

"Will that be all?" the nameless kitchen wench breathed, (as in Marilyn Monroe, oh my goodness my skirt is flying up and exposing my oh so sexy legs, breath) adjusting her cleavage-revealing dress. 

Miroku regarded her ponderously, "Actually, no." 

Inu Yasha raised an eyebrow at him while Sango slanted him a questioning look, "Really?"

"Yes, really," he answered solemnly. He found the, now terrified-looking, kitchen wench's hands, 

"I know we just met, but you have put me under your spell. Would you do me the honor of baring my child?"

Sango gawked speechlessly at him for the second time that day. 

"I-I'm sorry s-sir," the kitchen wench stuttered, tugging her hands away, "I-I'm getting m-married next m-month."

"Oh well, I wish you happiness," Miroku congratulated good-naturedly, earning him a smile from the girl as she turned to leave. Releasing a resigned sigh of disappointment, the sorcerer bowed his head and gave the girl's bottom a parting caress…

SLAP

BAM

"Houshi!" Sango exclaimed, an angry flush rising prettily to her cheeks, contrasting greatly with the ugly red-mark her fist and kitchen wench's platter combined had created. 

"When do you think he'll become conscience again?" Inu yasha asked, absently poking at the steaming cup of Ramen in front of him. 

Sango shrugged after apologizing profusely to the kitchen wench for the houshi's behavior, "Give or take a few minutes…oh my gosh, you ate ALL the oden?"

Kagome leaned against the wall, smiling contentedly, "Yep. I love oden." She daintily patted her mouth a napkin. 

"I wouldn't have guessed," Sango added dryly, attacking a green speckled fruit with her fork. 

Meanwhile, Inu Yasha was experiencing the most mind-blowing sensation of his life. After nibbling gingerly at the end of one dripping noodle, his eyes slide shut so he could focus solely on the flavor dancing in his mouth. And oh, that flavor! His taste buds sung their praise, and cried out for more. Not one to disappoint, especially himself, he scarfed down the rest of the foam cup's contents in a half a minute flat, noisily slurping down the left over soup to Sango's amusement, Kagome's disgust and Miroku's horror. 

"My breakfast!" he exclaimed, looking so forlorn, that even Sango took pity and handed him a box of pocky. 

"Why thank you my lady," he instantly brightened, munching happily on a chocolate covered morsel. He slid a hand over to properly "thank" his lady Sango, but upon seeing the cold, suspicious glare she was giving him, he decided to offer her some pocky instead. 

"Ehe Sango! I have an idea, how about we go to that table over there and talk," Kagome suggested, hurriedly looping her arm through the twitching bendela's and steering her over to a table a safe distance away from Miroku and his wandering hands. Said lecher watched the two ladies, and their lovely, round behinds, for a few seconds before turning to a glaring Inu Yasha. 

"Why am I under the impression that you don't like me?" He sighed, sucking on the end of his pocky. 

"Cuz I don't," Inu Yasha growled, lifting an eyebrow at Miroku while spearing a roll with a clawed finger and popping it into his mouth. 

"And why not?"

"Feh, I'm not like Kagome you know. I don't go around hugging every damn stranger I meet."

"She didn't hug me," Miroku pointed out, looking longingly over at the schoolgirl a couple of tables away from them, eyes lingering on her smooth legs swinging back and forth over the wooden bench. 

"What's your point houshi?"

"Can't you have _some_ trust in me?"

He snorted, "No."

"Not even a little?"

"No."

"What if I tell you a little about myself, would you trust me then?"

"Are you fucking hitting on me?"

Miroku blanched, "No! I'm straight as a board, I swear."

Inu Yasha ignored him and sniffed haughtily, "What kind of sorcerer are you houshi? I didn't think there were any queer sorcerers around."

"For the love of—look, I'm NOT gay! I love women! I love their breasts, I love their butts, I love their—" 

"Kami, there's no way in hell you're a sorcerer," a blushing Ina Yasha interrupted before Miroku could continue his ode to the woman body, "no sorcerer could be so corrupted." 

"But I am a sorcerer, a wind one in fact."

Inu Yasha almost spat out the ale he had just drank, "That's fucking impossible."

"That's impossible!" Kagome cried, eyes widening in disbelief at the grimly nodding Sango.

"I know."

"Then, how'd he do it? I mean, if you don't trap the hurricane you'll die right?" 

"Yeah well, the houshi got roped into a deal with this really shady guy. He met him at the Devil's Nest and in exchange for the houshi's levitation spell chain, the guy would give him an amulet that could hold a whole hurricane. Of course houshi accepted the deal, he's always like giving people the short end of the stick," Sango scowled, eyes involuntarily sliding towards the sorcerer's direction. Catching Kagome's knowing smile, she reddened and hurried on, "So the houshi captured the hurricane a month later, but what he soon found out was that little pieces of his soul are required to bind the hurricane to the amulet."

"That means…"

"He's dying."

Kagome's hand flew to her mouth in surprise, "That's horrible." 

"I know."

"Why doesn't he just take off the amulet?"

"If he does, it'll release the hurricane and kill a whole village of people as well as himself," Sango replied dully. 

"But there must be a way to stop his death," Kagome insisted.

"Of course there is. He just has to kill the man who gave him the amulet."

"And his name is?"

"Naraku."

Before Kagome could respond a hissing ball of gray fur and fat suddenly streaked pass the pair, flying over their table and exiting through the open window at the end of the vast common room. 

Kagome blinked, looking back and forth from the open window to the table, finally looking to Sango, 

"Um, was it just me," she began slowly, "or was that Mr. Toodles?" 

"I-I think it was," a bewildered-looking Sango replied. 

Kagome opened her mouth, perhaps to continue their earlier conversation, but, once again, before she could utter a word, a violet blur shot pass her, grabbing Sango's wrist and pulling the confused girl out of her seat. 

"Run you fool! Run, run, run!"

"What on earth?" Kagome turned to look at whatever her friend's were running from, acutely aware of the steady rumbling of many feet, but a hand stopped her, roughly grabbing her own and dragging her along towards the window Mr. Toodles had escaped out of earlier. 

"Wait, what's going on?" Kagome shouted at Inu Yasha, trying to pry her hand from his. 

"Less talking, more running," He ordered, not even panting despite the speed he was going at. 

"At least tell me what's going on," she pleaded breathlessly, trying to look back without stumbling. 

"Before I say anything, it's not my fault," he tightened his grip on her hand and swung her easily onto his back, not even slowing down. 

Kagome took this opportunity to chance a look over her shoulder and the sight that met her sent her tumbling off Inu Yasha's back and onto floor, a measly five feet away from the open window. 

"The girl's with the hell demon! It's a witch! Get her too!" a red-faced man roared, the passion in which he delivered his accusation causing his many chins to wobble. He was backed by your typical angry mob, complete with men and women armed with pitchforks and pans, and, as mentioned earlier, the complimentary over-fed, ruddy-skinned leader.  The wobbling of all his chins must've been some sort of signal to the mob, because in that one instant it evolved from a semi-organized, angry mob to a furious chaotic mass of people, and they were heading straight for the wide-eyed Kagome. 

"INU YASHAAA!" He scooped up the wailing schoolgirl into his arms and onto his back just as the first egg was thrown. Smirking cockily at his, in his opinion, awesome rescue, he looked over his shoulder at the pouting schoolgirl, leapfrogging over a man brandishing a pitchfork in the process. 

"What?" She snapped. 

"Whatever happened to 'thank you from saving my ass from that angry mob Inu Yasha?" The latter was said in a high-pitched voice, as if someone just rammed a pin up his butt. 

"I was thinking more along the lines of, what did you do _now_ Inu Yasha?" She cuffed a twitching ear and glared at the back of his head.

"I can always drop you, you know."

"Are you changing the subject?" 

"I told you earlier it wasn't my fault!"

"A likely story…watch out!" 

He rolled his eyes at her warning, easily evading the attempt at flattening his foot with a frying pan, and leapt gracefully out the window. Unfortunately, the chaotic mass (no longer just an angry mob) seemed to have experienced some simultaneous adrenaline rush and surged through the open window. 

"As I was saying, it wasn't my fault this time. It was your damn cat's fault."

"You're pinning the start of a riot on my cat!"

"Shut up and lemme finish wench. At first it was just two or three people chasing after your cat, the innkeeper claimed it was the devil's spawn and then five or six more joined them. Then the cat jumped onto my fucking lap and, you know those brats who were watching us earlier? Yeah, well the leader said I was a hell demon and the cat came to its master, so that brought on more people, including the pack of brats. And then one of the women recognized Miroku, so then all the women in the area came rushing to join the mob, and the women's husbands rushed after their women who rushed to join the mob and, and, and…See! It's not my fault," he craned his neck to look at Kagome. 

"Okay, okay, I believe you, just look ahead and run! They're starting to glow red!" 

Looking pass Kagome's head and seeing that, indeed, the chaotic mass was giving off a malevolent red aura, he picked up the pace and caught up with Miroku and Sango, the mob hot on their heels. 

"You all right 'Gome?" Sango panted, pushing a drooling Miroku out of the way of the tray a top-heavy woman he had been staring at had chucked at him. 

"Fuck the wench! I'm the one running here," Inu Yasha growled, receiving a pinch to his neck as a result. Otherwise, he was ignored, and a silence befell the group, each of them concentrating on putting as much distance as humanly possible between them and murderous mob. Inu Yasha looked back over at the angry mob again, noting the sinister smiles everyone in the group seemed to share and shivered. 

"Oi houshi, do things like this happen everywhere you go?" He called, jumping over the pitchfork the innkeeper had been trying to spear him with. 

Still running, Miroku looked thoughtfully back at the angry mob, "Hm…pretty much."

"Kami help us…"

A/N: Finally! There you go! My whole weekend of freedom was spent slaaaaaving over this. …okay, fine, I admit I actually enjoyed it. But meh. I don't really think I like this chapter. It was a bit too planned for my taste, but if you agree, be gentle with your agreement. Ho hum. I was so surprised when everyone reviewed so much on my last chapter. For minutes on end I would stare at each review in shock; I'm bound to get a heart attack if I keep that up. Any way, don't hesitate to send those reviews. I'll be checking my mail during photography, and since that's a particularly dull class, I'll need something to liven it up slightly. I just saw the Ring with my friend on Friday…oh my goodness. I stared up at the ceiling for two hours that night, trying to convince myself that there was no girl in white climbing out of my mirror to share the shit out of me. Oh and that whole Miroku thing, I just made that up on the spot. Wow, now I have to weave that into my already confusing plot. Meh. Well, it's really hot up here so I think I'll drink something now. Tootles people, review, review! 


	19. Pretty Quick Sand There

Age of the White Down

Chapter 18: Pretty Quick Sand There

Kagome shared a look with Sango before they both simultaneously sighed in irritation. After the regulars of the Snow Pine Inn had chased them out of Udala and into the outskirts of the Kentachi, Miroku had revealed his "time efficient" path. Instead of taking the round about route around the swamp, they were taking the shorter route _through_ she Kentachi Swamp. Needless to say, Inu Yasha was pissed.

 Massaging her temples, Kagome grit her teeth and resumed the mantra she had been mentally chanting for the pass hour, _'I will not sit him, I will not sit him, I will not sit him…'_

The other female of the newly formed quartet wasn't faring any better than her companion. Not only was her dress ripped, her hair oily and her arm covered in scratches (courtesy of the thistle bush she had tripped into earlier) but the sullen silence that enveloped the group was seriously grating on her nerves. The only noise for miles was the occasional squelching of a mud puddle clinging to the bottom of a shoe and that in itself was a nerve-wracking sound. Even more nerve-wracking and downright gloomy was Inu Yasha's scowling face and the unusual lack of complaints/words in general. Yeah, Miroku's path was a tad—she glanced at the twelfth mangled animal carcass they'd passed that hour—okay, Miroku's path was very dangerous, but not speaking for three whole hours wasn't helping. 

She absently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sighed. If only Kagome would lose patience with him and his childish silent treatment and sit him; they would start arguing and the thick silence hovering over them would finally be broken! She looked hopefully between Inu Yasha's stubborn pout and Kagome's determinedly pursed lips and heaved yet another loud sigh. Nope. Kagome losing her patience was as likely to happen as soon as her marrying Miroku.

"My Lady Sango," aforementioned lecher purred, sideling up to her side, "what's ailing you?"

"Er, nothing really," Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and her cheeks reddened as he slung a "comforting" arm across her shoulders. 

"Two sighs in one minute is not 'nothing.'" He looked down at her out of the corner of his eye, exposing the teasing laughter that always seemed to be dancing just below the surface of the solemn curiosity usually in his eyes. Most people, women in particular, found this trait intriguing, cute, mystifying, sexy or endearing. She, unlike the general population, found it annoying as hell. 

"Whatever perverted plan you're plotting or thought you're thinking, stop." 

"Oh my! Such poisonous and cynical thoughts from such a pure and delicious looking lady."

"…if you don't get your hands of my chest, this lady will turn you into pure and delicious looking meat for the ugly and hungry looking dogs." 

"And if both of you don't shut the fuck up I'll rip out your squishy and tiny looking brains and shove them up your small and tight asses," Inu Yasha tossed over his shoulder. 

"Inu Yasha! You shouldn't talk to Sango and Miroku like that!" Kagome scolded. 

"Why shouldn't I? They were annoying you too, don't deny it!"

"Well okay, maybe a little—"

"Hey!"

"_We're_ annoying?!" 

"—but you could've been a little nicer."

"Feh. They're too dense to take a subtle hint."

"See! See!" Kagome pointed an accusing finger at him, having his back to emphasize every word, "You just did it again!" 

"Did what again? You're not making sense wench!"   

"Oh, and about that thing. My name's Kagme. Say it with my now, Ka-go-me!"

"_Now_ you bring that up, wench?!" He turned to glare at her, but she had already swept passed him, hands clapped over her ears, 

"I'm not listening to you."

"Wait, wench—" 

"Not listening!"

"Wench! Wench! Wench!"

"Not listening, listening, listening!"

Miroku watched as Kagome swiftly disappeared behind a tall bush of thistles, hands still clamped over her ears, and then looked over to the fuming hanyou hollering after her. 

He blinked.   
"They act rather childish, don't they?" He calmly observed. 

Sango rolled her eyes, "You have no idea." 

"Stop being such a bitch…wench!"

"I told you, I'm NOT listening to you."

"Wench!"

"Not listening, not listening, not liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisten—"

"Wench, wench, wench, WENCH! …wench?"

Inu Yasha ears twitched in confusion at the silence that met his taunts. Something wasn't right; Kagome should've been having kittens by now, or at least shrieking the word sit until she was hoarse. Slowly tilting his head upwards, he delicately sniffed at the air before he froze—something terribly foreboding was writhing violently in his gut—and shot off pass the thistle bush Kagome had disappeared behind just seconds before, 

"Kagome!"

"Oh, now he says her name," Sango muttered, hurrying after the hanyou, Miroku trailing close behind. 

Following the curve of the path the pair simultaneously stopped in their tracks, mouths hanging slack in surprise are their eyes traveled up the rest of the path to, what appeared to be, a rapidly undressing Inu Yasha. 

His eyes had flicked towards them for a second in acknowledgement, but had quickly fell downwards to the patch of ground he was hunched over. The white undershirt of his haori had been shrugged off by then, and he was swiftly tying the sleeves of the two articles of clothing together clad only in his red pants. 

"What a great idea, Inu Yasha! How about we all get naked," Miroku suggested slyly when he re-gathered his wits. He turned pointedly to Sango, but she, still looking at Inu Yasha in confusion, just pushed him roughly to the ground, a foot away from Inu Yasha. 

"It was just a suggestion," he muttered, picking at the dried grass by his feet, accidentally uprooting it in the process. 

"Shut the fuck up, houshi, and take this," Inu Yasha growled, waving an untied haori sleeve impatiently in his face.  Hearing the startling note of urgency in Inu Yasha's usually gruff voice, he obediently took the offered sleeve before asking, 

"And why am I doing this? I already told you I'm straight. I don't know about y—"

"Shut up for a moment houshi," Sango sharply ordered, holding up a hand to silence him. He opened his mouth to object, but, noticing she wasn't looking at him, he followed her gaze to the uprooted chunk of grass that still dangled from his hands; more specifically to the clumps of sand the delicate roots clung to. 

"Eh…Sango?"

"Quicksand."

"What?"

"Kagome fell in to quicksand!"

"She did? How do you know? What do we erk—" Poor Miroku, once again unable to continue his sentence, was suddenly jerked forward, the hand that had instinctively fell forward to break his fall sinking beneath a shallow puddle of sand. Before he could recover, he was once again jerked forward, but fortunately, Sango had the presence of mind to grab his flailing, sand-covered hand, but not before everything below his torso became submersed. 

Gritting her teeth, Sango firmly planted her feet into the last edge of solid ground before packed dirt gave way to loose sand; she'd be damned before she let them fall. 

Her situation had rapidly swung from exasperatingly boring to grimly dangerous. Houshi was waist deep in quick sand, one sand-encrusted hand clasping hers while the other one tightly gripped the end of Inu Yasha's haori sleeve which disappeared beneath the suffocating substance where Inu Yasha and was, hopefully with Kagome. The delicate situation depended wholly on her capability to hold the weight of Miroku, Inu Yasha and eventually Kagome combined and, judging by the way her arms were beginning to treamble with the effort of just Miroku and Inu  Yasha, she wasn't sure she could. 

Seconds that felt like hours passed in a crackling silence in which two pairs of eyes were intently trained on the haori sleeve

…that had suddenly gone slack. 

A/N: …I'm aware it's not very long. But you know why? It's because I had to chop one BIG chapter into two. That's right. The next chapter should be up soon, and I mean real soon. I just need to type it up in fact. Yay! And sooo sorry for the lack of updates, I've just been busy with tests this week. I wrote this chapter in between/during classes so the tone might change a bit. ^_^* Sorry for the OOC-ness. Review review review!


	20. Mirror, Mirror

_Seconds that felt like hours passed in a tense, crackling silence in which two pairs of eyes were intently trained on the red haori sleeve_

_…that had suddenly gone slack. _

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 19: Mirror, Mirror

  
Sango blanched and her eyes widened in disbelief while Miroku bowed his head and whispered a silent prayer for his newfound companions. He was slowly allowing the sleeve to slip through his fingers, when it just as suddenly became taut. Biting back a cry of joy, Sango and Miroku watched in anticipation as one clawed and sandy hand broke through the surface of the quicksand. Another hand slowly followed, almost as if it were some creature from the deep testing out its new environment and, finding it to its liking, eagerly bursting onwards. In this same fashion did Inu Yasha, with Kagome held tightly to his chest, emerge from the quicksand, both greedily and quite audibly gulping in vast quantities of air.   

With new vigor, Sango began hauling the pair to solid ground, aided halfway by a semi-sandy Miroku. When the sand-encrusted pair reached the relieved pair on solid ground, they promptly collapsed into a boneless heap on their backs, causing Sango to follow suit only in concern rather than weariness.  

While watching Kagome breathlessly attempt to convince Sango that she was okay, Inu Yasha absently debated whether he should removes his arm from about her waist yet, but then noticed how her head was still resting comfortably against his shoulder and decided he could wait a little longer. After all, there were definitely more pressing matters to attend to. Like how he had almost lost Kagome. Like how she could've died. Like the way his chest had constricted so painfully when he couldn't find her in the quicksand. Like how she could've died. Like how happy—no, how jubilant, he felt when his hands encircled her small, thing wrist. Like how she could've died. Like how he still felt, though he would rather kiss Miroku than admit it, scared at the idea of losing her. Like how she could've died. It all came down to that really. What if he hadn't smell how she had disappeared? What if he hadn't found her in the quicksand? What if she had died? 

'_But she didn't die,'_ he mentally snapped, '_You saved her and she's alive right next to you.'_

_'But what if you weren't there to save her? What would she have done then?'_

_'…shit.'_

He shook away his stupid thoughts. He had saved her right? Right! Then there was nothing to spaz out about. '_Feh. She's just a weak wench any way,'_ he thought smugly, successfully boosting his ego. 

Opening the eyes he wasn't aware he had cockily closed, his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of two stormy gray eyes staring inquisitively up at him. He probably would have lost himself in those eyes that he tried so desperately to avoid, if Miroku's ill-concealed snickering hadn't snapped him out of the light spell he had fallen under. Clearing his throat, he tried to school his face into on of irritation, try being the operative word, and "smoothly" asked, 

"W-what?"

Her lips curved into a shy smile, "Thank you."

He looked momentarily surprised—he hadn't been shown gratitude in so long—but then returned the gesture with a quiet smile of his own. 

"Inu Yasha, you dog!" Miroku crowed, earning him a bop over the head from Sango. 

"Ignore him," Sango smiled, but then damage had already been done and the pair had sprung apart like they'd been lying next to a naked Naraku. 

"F-feh," Inu Yasha recovered first, standing up and brushing off his pants, "couldn't have you just dieing on us…wench."

Kagome stared up at him for a moment before she angrily pushed hers elf off the ground. Despite the fact that she was shorter than him, she suddenly appeared to be towering intimidatingly above him, the loose sand sliding off her shirt adding to the effect, 

"E-excuse me?! You mean after all _that_ you _still_ don't know my _name_?!"

For a minute, Inu Yasha appeared daunted, but, smirking, he crossed his arms and tossed his head, "Hmph. How dumb do you think I am? Of course I know your name, wench."

"Well obviously you don't if you keep me wench instead of Kagome."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He took a step closer to her, glaring daggers. 

"What do you think that means?" Not to be intimidated, she took a step closer as well.

"Er, well…fuck you!"

"Screw you, you stupid jerk."

"Bitch!"

"Stubborn, thick-headed mule!"

"Quicksand diving wench!"

"Jerk!"

"Wench!"

"Je—" Kagome froze, eyes crossing as she comprehended just how close she was to Inu Yasha's bare, muscular-but-not-too-beefy chest. She looked away, gray eyes wide as saucers, to hide the flush creeping up her neck. 

"J-jerk."

"Is that the best you can think of?" He taunted, puffing out his chest proudly and utterly oblivious to the source of Kagome's discomfort.

She forced herself to shoot an icy glare at him, '_Look at his face, look at his face, look at his face…'_

"SI—" 

"You guys, you guys, stop!" Sango cut in, to Inu Yasha's relief and Kagome's disappointment. Separating the glowering pair and handing Inu Yasha his gritty haori she requested, "Can you at least stop arguing until we get out of quicksand country? I don't want something like that happening again; I was really worried about you guys."

"You guys?" Inu Yasha echoed, giving Sango a strange look. 

"Well, yeah. I was afraid I wasn't going to se eyou two ever again."

"I must confess," Miroku joined in, "even I was concerned when it took you two so long to escape the quicksand."

"That's so sweet you guys," Kagome beamed. 

"Feh. There was no real danger," Inu Yasha half-heartedly muttered, something akin to pleasant surprise in his eyes. 

"Aw, how sweet," a familiar female voice sarcastically gushed from behing the group. As one they all whipped about to face the owner of the voice, Sango and Inu Yasha drawing their respective swords while Kagome fumbled for an arrow. Miroku tightened his grip on his staff, but at the same time gaped up in awe at the elegantly dressed woman atop the large floating feather, completely disregarding the pale, waif of a girl standing in front of her. One could practically see the drool dribble from his chin when her lips curled into a crooked smile, 

"I hope I'm not interrupting something." 

"Kagura," Inu Yasha spat, stepping forward. The rusty katana clenched in his hand transformed as the corner of his lip lifted slightly in a growl. 

"Cute trick, but I didn't come here to play with you," she sniffed loftily, gently pushing the small girl accompanying her forward. Expressionless, vacant eyes stared straight ahead as she lifted a circular mirror, the size of her head, in front of her and turned lsowly towards Inu Yasha, oozing an eerie childish malevolence. 

"Your soul is mine." Like her physical appearance, the girl's voice was monotone and bland, but the inu hanyou was too busy bristling at her threatening words to make such observations. A fang overlapped his lower lip as he growled menacingly at the girl in hopes of intimidating some kind of reaction out of her. He hated to be a softie—and he sure it was all Kagome's fault that he was—but that idea of attacking a little girl just didn't sit well with him. 

Kanna's small, chubby hands merely tightened their hold on the mirror, which she pushed away from her body and aimed at Inu Yasha. Reluctantly he darted towards the girl, sword raised upwards; maybe if he was fast enough he could lob her head off in one easy, painless, blow. He was about a foot away from the girl, who, to his surprise, seemed unaffected that he was going to decapitate her, when the most dreadful feeling he ever had the displeasure of experiencing bowled him over like a juggernaut, sending him staggering to his knees. Vaguely he registered the sound of tetsusaiga clattering to the ground, but decided that choking down the urge to weakly curl up in pain was, at the moment, more important than retrieving it. 

The nauseating wave of pain soon passed, leaving a weary ache in its wake. Shivering at the uncomfortable twinge at his very bones, Inu Yasha remained hunched over on the ground, hiding his attempts at regaining his composure but still tense in case of an attack. His head jolted upward at the rapid crunch of shoes against dirt, but he lapsed back into his prior position upon discovering it was only a distressed Kagome running towards him. 

He did a double take. Wait. Huh? 

Why were her eyebrows creased downwards like that? She didn't look angry, she looked almost…concerned, but for who? He shifted his head a little and checked on Sango and Miroku who appeared to be faring well against Kagura, her little sister Kanna just mutely watching them go at it from the side lines; they were fine. But if Sango and Miroku were fine, then who…

'_Baka. She's running to _you_, she's concerned for _you_._' 

'_For…me?_'

His eyes widened fractionally in surprise. She was worried? For him? Even if she was fully aware that he would only betray her in the long run? _Why?_ A stab of pain raced through his chest, causing his molten eyes to narrow and his teeth to instinctively clench together tight. Something was still wrong with him. The least he could was warn Kagome of his condition right? 

"K-Kagome, stop!" 

Okay, that command sounded weak even to his doggy ears. 

Then again, Kagome was never one to obey a command, strongly delivered or not; for example, the sound of her name had slowed her pace, but she continued steadily towards him despite his command not to, hands reaching soothingly out towards him, gray eyes filmed over with concern. But not pity, he realized. Pity and concern were so often mis-used, more often pity being felt when he only wanted concern. He'd hate it if Kagome simpered over him because she felt obligated to due to his circumstance. He'd much rather have her quietly fussing over him out of genuine worry, much like she was doing now. 

Though feeling more than a little disembodied, Inu Yasha was aware of the close proximity of the young schoolgirl as she knelt by his side. She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder, eyes locking with his,

"Inu Yasha, are you okay?"

She had such a soft voice. Usually he found it annoying, especially when she said that cursed s-word, but now it sounded soft, quiet and even shy. It reminded him of pressed flowers. 

"Inu Yasha?"

This close he could see the way her hair fell into her eyes, as well as the light, golden spray of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Why did he suddenly find that so endearing? Freckles were a testament of human's worthlessness, proof that they were susceptible to something as weak as sunlight. Yet, they fit her somehow, intensified her sunny nature—

He tore his eyes away from her face just in time to see Kagura swoop down towards Kagome's unsuspecting form. A growl tore itself from his throat as he forced down the pain and lunged towards Kagura, intent on ripping her to pieces, only to be knocked down by a wave of paralysis followed by another sensation similar to the first he was struck with. 

It felt like someone was slowly sipping out his insides, and the sick part was that it didn't hurt. There was just an emptiness that should've ached like some festering, gaping wound but since he was so numb, there was nothing but a hole. Just the sensation of something being leaked from him, like syrup from a tree, only painless, like someone was…was sucking away his soul. 

Blearily, Inu Yasha noticed that Kanna, who had suddenly appeared in front of him with a mirror, had deemed him finished and had moved on to take away Sango's soul, not even bestowing the courtesy of a warning, as she did him, just gliding up behind the distracted bendela and ripping her soul into her mirror. The girl suddenly turned ashen and tumbled to the ground, a look of surprise on her face. '_I must look the same way. How funny,'_ Inu yasha thought absently, his eyelids beginning to grow heavy. 

"Sango!"

'_And there goes the houshi.'_

He knelt down beside her, an unsteady hand reaching to touch her cheek. When she failed to slap his hand away and he successfully managed to cup her cheek without coming to bodily harm, he snatched his hand back, a look of utter astonishment and maybe even horror painted on his face. Inu Yasha would've smirked or even laughed if he could actually feel amusement. Instead he just watched through half-lidded eyes as Miroku began muttering something under his breath, facing Kanna but not looking at her. A strong gust of wind began to howl, but Kanna just continued gazing at the houshi with her stagnate stare, even when her mirror consumed his winds and even a little of his soul, she didn't blink. Binking was a waste of time any way. 

"Inu Yasha! Inu YASHAAA!" Unhurridely, the said hanyou slide his gaze over to Kagome and her teary gray eyes. Tears. How funny. Why was she crying? It was just a waste of energy, a means of venting an emotion that would do just as wel packed firmly inside or not existing at all. And yet she continued wasting energy, crying and calling his name. She struggled violently against the woman called Kagura whose arms were wrapped about her waist. Kicking and screaming, she called his name angrily now, reaching for him, 

"Inu Yasha you stupid jerk! Snap out of it! Help me! INU YASHA!"

Kagura clapped her hand over Kagome's mouth, sniffing disdainfully, "Fool. Can't you tell that your precious lap dog is gone? Forget him, Naraku has some one to introduce to you."

Kagome refused to comply and turned hopeful, yet pleading eyes to him. Though muffled, he could hear her voice whisper, concern and quiet confidence soaked into every syllable, 

"Inu Yasha."

She had confidence in him; confidence that he would save her. She trusted that he would help her and not abandon her. 

Something stirred deep within him. He wanted to—no, he NEEDED to save her. If he could feel, the emotion would have been fiery hot, but because he was so numb, it was more like a mantra being whispered into his ear. _'Save Kagome, save Kagome, save Kagome…'_ Like a poisonously sweet drug, it dripped into his system, doing quite the opposite of real drugs and clearing the haze of his thoughts. 

_'Get up. Get your lazy ass up and help her.'_

_'But—'_

'NOW.'

Clumsily he pushed himself off the ground; his right hand brushing against the hilt of the sword he had dropped earlier. Standing up all the way, he indifferently stared at the magically transformed fang hanging loosely in his hand, looking everything like some long soldier roused from his bed at 3 AM to fight. Truth be told, Inu Yasha wasn't tired in the least, which was due to the fact that he couldn't feel anything, but he didn't know that. He was busy listening to the strange mantra echoing loudly throughout his head,

'Save her, you must save her, save her…' 

"I-impossible," Kagura gasped at the half-youkai lumbering towards her, his face expressionless, his eyes glazed but fleck with the slightest of emotions. Finally processing what was happening, she snapped her fingers and her gigantic feather materialized below her. Floating upwards she glared down at her little sister, 

"Naraku told you to give him his soul back after I leave Kagome, remember Kanna?"

"I know."

"Then why did you give it back now?"

"I didn't."

"Then how is he walking around? You can't walk around without your sou—ow, son of a bitch!" Kagura cried, releasing Kagome to cradle the hand the schoolgirl had bitten. 

Kagome took this opportunity to jump off the hovering feather (landing quite gracefully on her butt) and dash over to Inu Yasha, who was making his way over to her in uncharacteristically jerky movements. Covering the last two feet in one leap, she flung herself at him and threw her arms around his neck,

"Oh my gosh, Inu Yasha, are you okay? What happened? Why didn't you answer when I called you, you jerk? How come you can walk and Sango can't? I was so worried! Are you okay? …oh, oops. Sorry." Noting his lack of responses, she became conscious of the deathly tight hug she had him in and quickly jumped away, blushing. 

Still he didn't answer. 

"Inu Yasha?"

He appeared to be deep in concentration. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, he finally managed to tonelessly rasp,

"I can't feel."

She pulled back, "What do you mean?"

"I can't feel the ground, my arms. I can't smell you."

"Why not?"

"My soul…" he trailed off and looked at something over her shoulder, before causally sending her sprawling to the ground. 

"What was that—" Kagome cut off her angry demand at the sight of Inu Yasha gazing almost curiously at the newly delivered gash running along his arm. He swung his head to the side as Kagura attempted to attack him again, barely missing his neck with her razor-tipped fan. She sent a gust of wind and invisible blades in his direction next, knowing full well that he lacked the agility and control in his state to dodge them. 

Kagome winced at the sounds of cutting flesh; the sound of a multitude of paper cuts occurring simultaneously. At this rate, Inu Yasha's body would die before they could win his soul back…if they could win his soul back. She peered over her shoulder a pale-looking Miroku tending weakly to Sango's sheet-white, prone body. There had to be something she could do to help. 

Running an agitated hand through her hair, her eyes swept over the area. Bushes, bushes, quicksand, Kanna and her soul-sucking mirror, bow and arrows…A determined smirk, eerily reminiscent of Inu Yasha's, flitted onto her lips. 

She was going to get their souls back. 

Inu Yasha tried to dodge another barrage of invisible blades, this time escaping with only two more scratches. He was almost getting good at this. Sure, a large amount of red liquid was seeping out of his body and, for some reason, his eyes kept on crossing, but other than those minor details, he felt (or at least he imagined he felt) he was faring pretty well against Kagura. He swung tetsusaiga in a large arc in hopes of slicing at Kagura, but it was a tired swing; he may not have felt it, but his body was seriously fatigued. 

Just as Kagura was about to unleash another attack on him that would have imminently lead to his termination, aide came in the strange form of pain slamming into his body. He staggered backwards at the overwhelming sensation barging into his body, becoming acutely aware of each cut delivered to his body, the peppery burning of his muscles and the sudden weight of tetsusaiga. Wait…he could feel! Risking a glance over his shoulder, he caught sight of a pale, but otherwise unharmed Kagome panting on the ground, clutching her bow and facing an almost agitated Kanna who gripped a, now, cracked mirror. 

Turning back to Kagura he fell into a battle stance, trying not to cringe at the pain that lanced through his body as he did so,

"You're little mirror trick was 'cute,'" he snorted, the corner of his lip curling into a menacing half-smirk, "but it's my turn now."

"Dammit," Kagura hissed, eyeing the bleeding, wind-swept and pissed hanyou with extreme distaste, "Come Kanna, it looks like we've failed," Kagura swept her sister onto her feather, "Oh and Kagome. Turn back. There's always something to fall on." And in a dramatic gust of wind she took off, becoming nothing more than a smudge in the sky in a matter of seconds. 

Inu Yasha watched the patch of sky the two sisters had abruptly disappeared into for a few more seconds before tetsusaiga transformed back into a katana, and, with at tired, barely-audible sigh, he allowed himself to sit down for a small break. 

Kagome soon joined him, tiredly crawling over and flopping down at his side. 

"Angry mobs, quicksand and soul-suckers…we've had quite a day, huh Inu Yasha?" Her pale dirt-streaked face grinned teasingly up at him, causing the corner of his lips to twitch slightly,

"Feh. It was nothing we couldn't handle."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"…What are Sango and the lech up to, wench?"

"Sango got her soul back, but she's still kind of tired so, the last time I checked, Miroku was helping her out." 

"Are you sure she's safe with him?"

"Can you feel this?"

"No"

"This?"

"No."

"This?"

"YES! HENTAI!"

"I was merely—"

SLAP

"I think she can handle him.

A sleepy silence befell the pair then, giving Kagome time to debate the best method of keeping Inu Yasha immobile while she bandaged his wounds. Sitting would just irritate them, wrestling him down was out of the question, hm…questioning couldn't hurt right? Bracing herself for the worse, she widened her eyes, clasped her hands innocently in her lap and opened her mouth to ask, but Inu Yasha beat her to it,

"How'd you do it?"

She cocked her head to the side, "Do what?"

"Break the bitch's mirror?"

"Oh that," She tucked a stray hand of hair behind her ear, "I just shot my arrow at it, but instead of just hitting the mirror, it went _through_ the mirror. I started feeling a little funny afterwards, and I could see some white mist coming out of my chest, but then the mirror exploded and all your soul's came back," she shrugged, the confusion of the event evident on her face, "I think she was trying to take my soul too, but for some reason it overflowed out of the mirror instead of staying in it like your soul did."

Inu Yasha studied her for a moment, an unreadable expression in his gold eyes, before turning away and gruffly muttering, 

"Thank you."

She blinked. 

"For what?"

"For giving me back my soul," he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw her looking slightly flustered. Hmph. Kami, how corny did that line sound? But he really did owe her thanks. She was the reason he roused himself from that state of indifference he was under earlier, the reason he force himself up despite the fact that he couldn't feel; she had even retrieved his soul at the risk of her own. But why? 

Their eyes met and she gave him her shy smile, gray eyes laughing, 

"Feh. It was nothing we couldn't handle." 

A/N: Whooo! Wow. That took my whole Friday to type. I hope that compensates for that short cliffie last chapter, I didn't mean to make it a cliff hanger, sorry! And thank you for the reviews, you guys, keep it coming. And if n e of u are hyper sensitive about freckles, I think they're cute so…yeah. That was just Inu Yasha's opinion of them, not mine! 

Well now that's out of the way…wow. I have forty reviews. I feel like squealing. Forty!! Yay! I love you all! I could just hug you all, but I think I'll just go eat now. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry for the sucky-ness and any typos. 


	21. Hot Spring Fun

Age of the White Dawn

Chapter 20: Hot Spring Fun

Kagome gave a small sigh of contentment as she slid fully in the hot springs, reveling in the sensation of warm water lapping at the nape of her neck, soothing her aching muscles. A bare, pale arm rose above the steaming waters to ensure her hair remained messily piled a top her head, while the other rested delicately against the rocks lining the outer edge of the springs. The owner of both appendages was gazing heavenward, squinting through the warm mist at an unusual shaped cloud drifting lazily overhead. 

Opposite Kagome was Sango in very much the same position as her younger friend, the only difference being that (since she was in possession of a hair tie and thus had no need to hold up her hair) she had both of her slightly tanner arms lying idle upon the hot spring's edge. She too was observing the unusual shaped cloud, the warm mist not only occasionally obscuring her view, but also painting her cheeks a flushed red. 

The pair remained as such for several minutes until, finally, Sango broke the comfortable silence by noting aloud, 

"It looks like a hippo smoking a cigar."

Kagome wrinkled her nose and cocked her head to the side, "That sounds so icky. I was thinking a hippo wearing ballet shoes. See that little part sticking out there? That's the unlaced part." She eagerly pointed out the said section of the cloud, but Sango just slowly shook her head, 

"That's not the hippo's feet, that's its mouth."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Keh."

The two females stopped and stared at each other before dissolving into a fit of chuckles and giggles, 

"Oh my gosh," Kagome groaned, putting a hand to her forehead in amused dismay, "I think Inu Yasha's rubbing off on me." 

"Maybe it's karma."

"How so?"  
"Maybe, because you sat him so much, it was decided that your penance would be to acquire the very habits of his that got him sat in the first place," Sango philosophized, pinning Kagome with a thoughtful look. 

"Oh please," she snorted, "He deserved all those sits. Not only did he give everyone only half a day of rest after the whole Kagura thing, but I found this whole stash of ramen in his haori when I was bandaging him up. So I gave him one sit for each packet of ramen he stole from the inn," she explained loftily. 

"Yeah, but he said he was only replenishing our supplies," Sango pointed out. 

"Yeah, but Miroku said he was only getting that grasshopper off your back," Kagome shot back. 

"That's different; I know he was lying."

"Really now…"

"Really. That was one of the first ones he used on me."

"Oh yeah! You've known him long before this whole incident, huh?" 

"Yeah, unfortunately. Ever since he was ten he'd come through the camp with his dad's caravan. Heck, I think I was the first girl he groped."

"Wow, I don't think I've ever known any one that long," Kagome reflected. 

"Mm, it's not all that great. Oh, but I did know him before he ever became a lech…yes, an innocent Miroku did exist at one time," she added at Kagome's incredulous expression, "I even slept with him once and—"

"What?!" Kagome shrieked, throwing up both hands, forgetting that one was required in order to prevent her hair from touching the water. Her hair tumbled wildly down in her face and upon her shoulders, her gray eyes wide with disbelief and a hint of school girlish excitement, 

"You, you—" she sputtered, "did that?!"

"Wha? Oh, no, no! Miroku must be rubbing off on you too!" Sango, face a lovely shade of fire hydrant red, hastily denied. 

"Oh, okay. Go on then."

Still slightly flustered, Sango crossed her arms and continued, "Uh, any way, when we were younger, much younger mind you, we both suffered from major cases of insomnia; me because I had—have—only fragmented memories of my pass outside the bendela camp, and Miroku because his Mom left him for some sailor. So we'd both sneak off to the main stables and spend the night in the hay loft, whining to each other. We often fell asleep there together," Sango finished, a sad, wistful expression on her face as she stared intently down at her hands. 

"What changed?" 

Sango's expression turned bitter, "He became the houshi."

"Um…"

She sighed, "He sort of disappeared for three years, and when he came back he had…changed. Yeah, he greeted me with the usual hug, but included a pinch in the ass with it. So I decked him, we got into an argument, and I haven't heard from him 'til now." She failed to mention how he had left without saying goodbye, and how she had bawled like a baby for days after his departure; such minor details would usually be found in some schoolgirl drama rather than a bendela's life. 

"I'm sorry."

"It's his life," Sango shrugged, "If he wants to grope women, it's no concern of mine…well, unless it's me he's groping."

"Hm, maybe knowing someone for so long isn't such a good thing…"

"Well, I do have some great blackmail material," Sango smiled, "And what do you mean you haven't known someone for such a long time? How about your friends at that school of yours?"

"Nope. Students are constantly being rotated from school to school."

"How does that—oh wait! Inu Yasha! You guys seem pretty cozy around each other."

"Uh…er, I actually met Inu Yasha only a little earlier than you," Kagome murmured, finding the strand of hair curled about her finger quire interesting. 

"Oh really? When I first met you, you guys were bickering like an old married couple."

"A married couple who would have no qualms ripping each other to shred," Kagome added dryly.

Sango opened her mouth to deliver her good-natured reply, but suddenly stiffened, glaring into the bushes. 

"Did you hear that?"

"What?" 

"That rustling noise—there it foes again! In the bushes!" Not taking her eyes off the spot in the bushes, she felt around until her palm brushed against a rock. Without a sound, she tested its weight and, finding it good and heavy, she chucked it into the bushes. 

Nothing. 

"Hm, I guess I'm just being paranoid."

Miroku quietly released the breath he had been holding, wincing at the sight of the rock embedded deep within the tree trunk he knelt beside. Damn, when had Sango gotten so aggressive? What happened to the chubby-cheeked, pig-tailed, innocent little girl he used to try to scare with ghost stories?

He peered through the bush and his jaw nearly dropped in a most undignified matter.   
She became a woman. A beautiful, strong, fierce woman. A woman who was currently stepping out of the hot springs, nude, to retrieve her equally nude friend  hair tie. A woman with long, muscled legs, with p—

"You're drooling houshi," a semi-amused voice growled lowly from behind him, and just like that, he was suddenly hauled away from  his hiding place to the lake the girls had exiled them to earlier. 

"That just wasn't right, you know that? It was just sick and wrong," Miroku snapped from where Inu Yasha had dumped him on the ground, spitting out an orange flower that had gotten caught in his mouth.

"No, you're sick and wrong."

"I was merely appreciating the art of a woman's body."

"Yeah, well, go appreciate some other piece of art," he growled, walking over to the lake's edge and kicking a rock in, "she's not some cheap show you can gape at any time you want."

"I was talking about both of our lovely lady companions, you know," Miroku chuckled, picking up a rock and skipping it across the water.

"That's not the point," he huffed, crossing his arms and scowling at something in the distance. 

"Ah yes, of course not. The point is that I was looking at Kagome when she wasn't fully clothed, correct?" Not waiting for an answer he continued, "Well, you were more than welcome to join me, you know. Personally, I preferred my Lady Sango's muscles over Kgome's curves, but they are both equally appealing in…uh, Inu Yasha?"

When inu hanyou didn't answer, Miroku turned in the direction Inu Yasha's eyes—narrowed into two suspicious slits—were trained upon, his grip on his staff tightening at the sight of the silhouette shrouded in mist, floating above the lake towards them. 

"Should I warn the girls?" Miroku quietly asked.

"No. Let them have their fun," Inu Yasha smirked, cracking his knuckles, "And we'll have ours."

Miroku rolled his eyes. Why did he have a bad feeling about this?

Meanwhile, back in the hot springs, Miroku's "works of art" were starting to get suspicious. They were in the middle of trading embarrassing stories when a loud, Miroku-like shout had rung out followed by a heavy, unnerving silence. 

The two girls exchanged uneasy looks, 

"Inu Yasha probably lost his temper and pushed him into the lake, or something," Kagome suggested, sinking back into the water. 

"Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me," Sango agreed, about to follow suit when a loud rustle and a soft hiss from the bushes grabbed her attention. Both girls simultaneously reached for rocks, arms crossed over their chests.

A tense minute of silence followed, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves. 

There was a hellish hiss, and from the bushes, hissing and spitting, leapt…

"Mr. Toodles?"

"Oh kami, that's the second time that cat has almost given me a heart attack," Sango exclaimed, lowering the large rock she had armed herself with. 

Kagome sent her an apologetic look, too busy making unintelligible, comforting noises in an attempt to coax Mr. Toodles over. For all her encouragement, though, the cat remained where it was, posture rigid, eyes darting about nervously.  

With an exasperated sigh, Kagome climbed out of the hot spring and slowly (to keep from startling it) pulled on her under things and clothes. Sango joined her moments later, and together they both tried to calm the utterly spooked cat; a task that proved to be near impossible. 

With every step taken towards him, no matter how slow, Mr. Toodles would hiss and leap back until finally something snapped, and with a yowl, he bound away, Sango and Kagome hot on his tail. 

After a minute of running blindly through this mist, the pair stumbled upon the lake they had "banished" their men folk to earlier that day, and Kagome was only vaguely surprised to see that Mr. Toodles was no where in sight. Stupid cat. Only Kami knew why she loved it so much.

"Dumb cat, I was only trying to help you," she muttered, picking out an orange flower that got caught in her hair and tossed it over her shoulder. Sango caught it before it hit the ground and studied it for a moment before tossing it over her shoulder as well; there was something strange about that flower…

"Hey Kagome, have you ever seen those orange flowers before? …Kagome?"

Curious, Sango joined her friend in looking down at the lake's edge and gasped. Instead of a small, shallow area that most lakes had, the lakes plummeted sharply downwards like some man-made swimming pool and at the very bottom, pale and wraith-like, were Miroku and Inu Yasha. They looked to be in some deep slumber, their arms and legs bound together by thick green vines flowering the exotic orange blossoms that bordered the whole lake and hot springs. 

"What happened?" Kagome whispered, the first to snap out of the dazed stupor that had befallen them. 

"I don't know."

"They're not…you know," she looked up at Sango, "They're not d—"

"Of course not, you silly head

They're just asleep, not dead."

Both girls tensed, Sango reaching for her swords while Kagome groped about for her bows and arrows, only to discover that she had left them back at the hot springs. 

'_Great. While I'm chilling in the hot springs I have my weapons, but when there's some mysterious Dr. Seuss wanna-be behind me, I'm not armed. Yup, that's just perfect…'_

Once again exchanging glances, the girls whirled about to face their newest foe and not one of them bothered to mask the looks of shock that flew onto their faces,

"Oh my God." 

A/N: …UGH. UGH! That chapter, it's just so, so…ugh! It's more dialogue than any thing else, but it just sounds so awkward, so flat, so, so…blech. I'm afraid going one or two weeks without writing has somewhat affected my style. Ugh. When I'm done with this story, I think I'll re-write this chapter…

But any way, really, really, really sorry for not having updated in so long. I've had all these tests to study for, and then there's always the obligatory holiday drama, and then I totally re-vamped this chapter twice and it STILL doesn't please me, and yeah. Typical author excuses ^_^* All of those who reviewed, thank you soooo much! Keep'em coming! Happy holidays everyone, I'll try to post the next chapter for this really soon. Hopefully before winter break ends, but my parents have been bugging me to start studying for SAT's so meh. We'll see how it goes. 

Oh and one more note: Shippo will be showing up in this story eventually. ^_^


	22. Sneak Peak Chapter 21

Once again exchanging glances, the girls whirled about to face their newest foe and not one of them bothered to mask the looks of shock that flew onto their faces,

"Oh my God."

Age of the White Dawn

Sneak Peek Chapter 21: Obligatory Memory Lane Chapter Part 1

The person hovering before them was beautiful; a tall figure with billowing robes, a childishly smooth complexion and mussy tendrils of black hair brushing against the purple markings running, almost mournfully, down from two heavy-lidded eyes. Those eyes--dark--were deceivingly demure, a startling contrast to the ominously thick fog that licked at the edge of the figure's purple robes. The person hovering before them was, without a doubt, very beautiful.

But it wasn't the ethereal, mist-silhouetted beauty of the stranger that caused the surprise-tinged expressions of confusion to fly onto Sango and Kagom's faces.

It was the fact that the voice they heard earlier was decidedly male.

And the creature that stood before them appeared decidedly female.

This time Sango was the first to overcome her confusion; her hand, which had instinctively flown to the hilt of her sword, finally tightened about it as she prepared to attack the creature before her--regardless of whether she could determine its sex or not.

"Come now girly," the creature sneered, seemingly at the mention of Sango's gender, "use your head; if you draw your sword, your boyfriends are dead." It then lifted its hands and displayed the thick green vines wound prettily about its fingers, "See these vines wrapped about my hand? Your men will suffocate to death with just a tug on a strand."

"Okay, fine. You win Dr. Seuss. Now what do you want with us?"

"With you?" It arched a brow, looking disdainfully between Sango and Kagome before adding suggestively, "It's not you, but the men folk I want to do something to."

Flushing, either from anger or embarrassment, Sango opened her mouth to retort, but Kagome cut her off,

"Is there any way we can convince you to let them go? Like, a deal or something?"

"A deal you say? Hm, how interesting. Just how much are you willing to pay?"

"Interested in a cat?"

"Sango!"

"Just kidding?"

"No a cat will not do. Though I have a proposition for you two."

"Go on."

"Well, it gets rather boring around these parts and I can do with some entertainment. I'm not just going to hand back those delicious morsels of men, mind you, but I'm willing to give you two a chance to win them back if you're interested."

Kagome cocked her head to the side, confusion and a little bit of disappointment etched onto her features, "Hey, none of that rhymed."

"Oh please, you didn't expect me to be able to keep that up forever did you? Obviously it was just a ploy to get your attention; a marketing device; a means of giving character to my character if you will," it explained with a roll of its eyes.

"Oh."

"Brilliant strategy, it was very effective. Now continue please."

"Don't rush me woman. Any way, if you want your men back all you have to do is sprinkle some of those gorgeous orange flowers--aren't they pretty? I made them myself--into the water of the lake and breath in the smoke that comes from it."

"Sounds simple," Sango said, eyes narrowing suspiciously, "What's the catch?"

"Well I've always preferred my men marinated in terror, so currently they're trapped within the deepest depths of their mind from which you have to pull them out."

"And if we succeed?"

"You get your men back of course."

"And if we don't?"

The stranger gave a careless shrug, "You'll probably end up stuck within the men's minds, perpetually reliving their worse fears or nightmares until you find a way out."

An uneasy look passed between the two; aside from the lovely, rather unnerving, picture the stranger's words painted for them, they both knew that they would inevitability accept the proposal, no matter how great the risk. But--almost like the deep, reassuring breath one takes before diving head first into a pool--they continued questioning the stranger,

"How exactly are we supposed to drag them out of the deepest depths of their mind?"

"Why are you helping us out any way?"

"Who do you work for?"

"What are you?"

"In response to the second question, it'll be very entertaining to witness your antics, and as for the rest, that's none of your business. Now do you accept or not?" The stranger asked in the most bored of tones, absently playing with the pendent about his/her neck.

Again the two girls shared looks before Sango stepped slightly forward and said, "Yeah. We'll take your proposal."

"Oh good!" Instantly the stranger's delicate features rapidly morphed from boredom to that of childish delight, "Now, just get a handful of those flowers, yes, you can just scoop them right off the ground, and go over and sprinkle them into the lake where your friends are. And that's all there is to it, it's simple as pie. Just do as I told you. Now farewell, goodbye!" And so ending the way it began, the stranger dissipated dramatically with the mist leaving Kagome and Sango crouched at the edge of the lake, orange blossoms spilling out of their hands.

As they extended their flower-filled hands over the lake, both girls hesitated, a few rogue petals slipping out of their hands and into the crystalline waters, rippling the image of the sleepy faces that lay beneath the lakes surface. Already thin wisps of purple smoke were curling upwards from where the few petals had fallen, bringing with it the shadow of the vague, dreamy sensation one feels when transitioning between the states of awake and asleep.

Kagome turned to Sango, and forced out a determined smile despite the suddenly lazy atmosphere, "Well, I guess I'll see you on the other side."

And she released the crushed flowers into the water.

For a moment, all was still, and then suddenly clouds of purple smoke were rising from the lake, the air was thick and humid and there was a heavy smell ofsweet exotic flowers that assailed Kagome's senses and urged her to sleep, to close her eyes, to let go and to dream. It was overwhelming, stifling and disconcerting--she heard the distant splash of Sango releasing her own handful of flowers into the lake, but she was too busy struggling to stay conscious, too busy struggling forward. Her eyelids were so heavy, but she couldn't sleep because she must rescue her friends, save them from the darkest depths of their minds, save Inu Yasha as he had her so many times before; for a brief instance it was as if their faces were directly before her, appearing emotionless and pale and so unlike them that determination momentarily welled within her, but then the image flickered away, leaving only a chilling darkness and the sounds of waves crashing against the shore….

A/N: ….heh heh. Yeah, I know. WOW. It's been a while. This is actually just a sneak peek of the whole of chapter 21. I was intending on finishing it over thanksgiving break, but I didn't have the time. Woo junior year. You'd think that with all the stuff going on academically that I would just utterly push this story aside, but Age of the White Dawn has been in development since I was in the eighth grade, and I figured it would be a shame if it never got an ending. So I decided to restart it again. Just keep in mind that the updates will be really slow, and the whole chapter may not come out for a while. The weeks after break are always psycho thanks to evil AP teachers. Any who, it's late and I have a test tomorrow (of course. What better time to update then the night before a test? It would be very un-honor student like if I updated when I actually had free time…) so hope you had a happy read, and feedback as to whether you like the direction the chapter's going (or even a comment on the state of my writing style) would be much appreciated.


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